Uber Eats lets viewers choose their own endings in latest Australian Open campaign via Special
For three years, Uber Eats has been infiltrating the Australian Open in unexpected, non-traditional ways to promote online food delivery. This year marks the fourth year of sponsorship with a new campaign, created by Special Australia, to promote grocery delivery as an extension from the recent campaign “This calls for”.
The campaign “Choose your own AO” features tournament stars Ash Barty, Nick Kyrgios and Todd Woodbridge in a series of films that each propose three alternate endings. In order to see how the stories unfold, viewers must have their phones ready and scan the QR code to see the highly entertaining and very surprising ending of their choice. An online media buy, supporting the broadcast campaign, also sees placements that have been purposefully selected to empower viewers to choose their preferred ending.
The films all set up dramatic moments of need – an on court blackout for Ash, a moment of frustration towards the umpire for Nick; and Todd losing his voice while in the middle of commentating. Viewers are then given the power to choose a grocery product and scan the QR code for the ending that solves the moment of need.
Says David Griffiths, head of marketing, Uber Eats: “Going into our fourth year at the AO we wanted to do something different. Something that made Aussies stop what they were doing and go on an entertainment journey. Having such adventurous content available exclusively online is daring but with Uber Eats offering more choice than ever with new categories like alcohol, grocery and personal care items now available on the platform – it made sense to reflect that choice and give the audience the freedom to pick their own adventure. The three week campaign is an extension of our latest brand platform This Calls For and alongside TV sees us leverage non-traditional channels bringing more people in to discover what we’re doing. Keep an eye out for exclusives, easter eggs and loads more unexpected twists as the campaign unfolds.”
Says Sarah Parris, creative director, Special Australia: “Since Uber Eats sponsored the Aus Open, they’ve become known for playing with the viewing format. We’ve ambushed, we’ve made the tennis score a game, now with Uber Eats offering even more delivery choice with groceries, it seemed only fitting to let the actual mechanics of the idea bring that to life.”
For Ash Barty, each dramatic ending sees the world’s number one ranked tennis player lead a candle filled seance that summons Pat Rafter’s ponytail from 1988, carrots which gives her the power of night vision to spotlight incredibly strange behaviour from the audience and on court officials; or batteries which lead to a horror film where Ash is stalked by terrifying twin ball girls.
For Nick Krygios, viewers can choose the chocolates to unlock a montage of romantic moments with an umpire; a relaxing bubble bath or a blissed out trip to a euphoric world where tea is the gateway to adventure, with Nick remarking “I’ve had tea but I’ve never been tea”.
And, for event commentator Todd Woodbridge Uber Eats offers up permanent markers, lemon & honey or garlic to sooth his lost and croaky voice and depending on which QR code they choose, the audience can see Todd transform from commentator to cleaner to drop truth bombs to Kyrgios (who’s mid shower), discover a new talent by joining a barbershop style quartet or wipe out players with his garlic breath.
In addition to taking control and deciding the fate of talent via the endings, there are easter egg promotions on groceries and alcohol scattered throughout to reward people for engagement.
The sponsorship is brought to life across TV, social, online and OOH as well as reactive social content (created by Hello Social) during the tennis.
CLIENT: UBER EATS
SENIOR DIRECTOR, HEAD OF APAC MARKETING: Lucinda Barlow
MARKETING DIRECTOR ANZ: Andy Morley
HEAD OF MARKETING UBER EATS ANZ: David Griffiths
CULTURE LEAD: Josh Pickstone
BRAND LEAD: Channa Goonasekara
COMMUNICATIONS LEAD: Nick Vindin
ANZ MEDIA LEAD: Louisa Chu
APAC STRATEGY LEAD: Ally Doube
APAC SOCIAL LEAD: Isaac Lai
GLOBAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Viktor Jacobsson
AGENCY: SPECIAL
CCO/PARTNERS: Tom Martin & Julian Schreiber
APAC CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Max McKeon & Sarah Parris
CREATIVE TEAM / CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Jade Manning & Vince Osmond
CREATIVE TEAM: Cat Williams & Jessica Roberts
CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST: Laurent Marcus
CEO/PARTNERS: Lindsey Evans & Cade Heyde
HEAD OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT: Tori Lopez
BUSINESS DIRECTOR: Liam Walker
BUSINESS MANAGER: Maddie Armstrong
GROUP STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Celia Garforth
SENIOR STRATEGIST : Kellie Box
HEAD OF FILM PRODUCTION: Sevda Cemo
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Wendy Gillies
INTEGRATED PRODUCER: Stephanie Wilkinson
STILLS PRODUCERS: Sonia Ebrington & Emily Willis
DIGITAL PRODUCER: Stacey Szabo
CASTING DIRECTOR: Emily Stewart
SOCIAL LEAD: Lachlan Stewart
SOCIAL SPECIALIST: Sarah Mckie
PRODUCTION COMPANY: SCOUNDREL
DIRECTOR: James Dive
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Adrian Shapiro
PRODUCER: Jules Shelton
DOP: Danny Ruhlman
CASTING:
Sydney – Leon @ i4casting
Brisbane – Michelle @ Ben Parkinson Casting
POST PRODUCTION: The Editors
EDITORS: Stu Morley / Mark Burnett
COLOURIST: Andy Clarkson
HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Liv Reddy
SOUND: Rumble Studios
SOUND ENGINEER: Tone Aston / Cam Milne
MUSIC SUPERVISOR: Adam Moses
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Michael Gie
PHOTOGRAPHY: The Pool Collective
PHOTOGRAPHER: Sean Izzard
MANAGING DIRECTORr: Cameron Gray
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Zoe Izzard
REACTIVE CONTENT AND COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT: Hello Social
MANAGING DIRECTOR: Sam Kelly
DIRECTOR OF CX / CLIENT LEAD: Maddie Marovino
MEDIA AGENCY: Mediacom
GROUP CLIENT DIRECTOR: Lynsey Mogridge
ASSOCIATE INVESTMENT DIRECTOR: Patrick Fakiye
25 Comments
I didn’t have enough time to get to the TV to scan the QR code so I used my imagination to create 1 minute long scenarios for each of the products instead.
I really wish I’d made these – some seriously funny and surprising endings. Biggest props go to Uber for continuously upping the ante each Aus Open.
The average age of an Aus Open viewer is 54.. Boomers using QR is supposed to be a parody, not an insight.
This is some weird shit! I love it. Onya Cat & J-Ro!
Didn’t DDB already do a QR code TV campaign?
It was just a matter of time before someone used QR code’s like this. Nice work being the first.
I think Cummins used a QR code in a TV spot years ago.
Doesn’t mean no one else can do it. But it might suggest only one agency can claim it as a first. And No, I don’t work at Cummins and never have.
Nick Kyrgios being tea bagged along with every other joke about him is a wet man’s dream.
If 2million see the first ad, but only 1% of them scan their phone to join the journey… that’s a hell of a lot of production effort for 20,000 people (who have probably already used the Uber Eats app). Irrespective of what’s on the other side of the click from a quality POV, just feels like really naive comms strategy.
When you have so much money you don’t know what to do with it you can do stuff like this.
Really creative and wonderfully done, and I wish I had done it, but it does feel like it comes from a wasteful client.
On how many people actually scan the code. The resolves are great, but whenever the ‘scan’ ads have popped up during the tennis, my family just talk about how bad they are.
is the green light hitting the wrong side of Ash Barty’s face.
The filmmakers curse…wish I was an audience member again!
I saw all the scan ads but they were too quick to scan so I thought it was a dud. Until I watched all of them here. The Kyrgios chocolates had me legitimately laughing – can’t stand the bloke but it still got a laugh out of me. These are really bloody clever. I hope more people get to see them.
Per many of the comments already here, the QR codes just dont stay on screen long enough for anyone to get their phone out / open the camera app / get the focus or angle right
They should have kept the QR codes on screen for the full duration with a small CTA
Otherwise this relies on someone seeing the ad multiple times, then remembering to get their phone ready for the end of the ad
A nice idea for sure – but i’d guarantee that UE are not brave enough to publish the engagement results this generates (likely to be miniscule)
Upon inspection, the romantic chocolate ending with Nick Kyrgios has 114 000 views. That 1144 000 people who have actively engaged with the brand. I’m no expect, but I assume that more valuable that 1 million people simple watching an ad with no resonance.
What..? It has 660 views currently. Think you might’ve added a few 0’s and other assorted digits in there.
Instead of funding this maybe you could pay your riders and restaurant owners properly. Just a thought. What a monumental waste of funds.
Obviously the success of this campaign is yet to be determined, but you have to hand it to the guys at Uber Eats to have the sheer courage to go through with something like this. The ads are phenomenally entertaining. Regardless of whether or not this mows down all KPIs, advertising in general will benefit from this sort of bravery.
I try to skip ads. Not engage with them. So shit.
Big fall from grace to go from the original tennis campaign – which was funny because it looked identical to the broadcast… to these.
These interactive bits are dated as a concept and the direction/execution is very much on the cheesy side. Wasn’t that director a sculptor and activation guy?
I mean I liked the initial ones that glue did. Simple an cleverly looked like tv. Not sure about these. Craft is pretty cheesy comedy 101
There’s a knack to writing comedy—these are just plain silly— what a wasted opportunity. Maybe spread the brief around the agency next time
Not good. I’d say it’s not just the writing, but as noted above, employing a commercial sculptor as a comedy director is maybe not the brightest idea.
Would ever scan and sit through these? Not much of a reward for those who do…
I like