Uber recently launched a new global brand campaign featuring moments of joyful connections—both monumental and ordinary. Introducing the tagline “On Our Way”, the campaign attempts to link the brand’s rideshare and delivery apps with a unifying, emotional reason for being—that of simply showing up.
Compelling visual storytelling enhanced with a soundtrack featuring Lou Reed (“Perfect Day”) and the Beatles no less (“I Want to Hold Your Hand”) allowed the ad and the brand to stand out in a new and highly connective way.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the campaign.
The Details:
- The emotional connections made by the :60 vs :30 “On Our Way” showed some interesting differences, with the longer form connecting through the Heartfelt Narrative:
- While the :60 saw the Lou Reed “Perfect Day” and (for both spots) the Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand” audio drive the viewer experience at disproportionately high rates compared to other ride service ads (past two years), the message was much more emphatic in the :60 “On Our Way”.
- The long-form drove an impressive 55% to positive intent (+13 pts vs norm), while the :30 cut also drove above-norm consideration of 46% (+4 pts).
- As such, continued airings of the :60 could be warranted for Uber, given both stronger connections and larger potential business outcomes for the brand.
- While the :60 saw the Lou Reed “Perfect Day” and (for both spots) the Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand” audio drive the viewer experience at disproportionately high rates compared to other ride service ads (past two years), the message was much more emphatic in the :60 “On Our Way”.
- Both ads were strong performers across every performance metric we track and easily outpaced rideshare norms; however, the :60 ranked in the top percentile in delivering something new/Change, Relevance, and in driving Desire as well as in overall response (Ace Score).
- Branding was strong with 85%+ of all viewers of each creative recalling Uber (unaided) after a single viewing, with sentiment on the ads also largely positive:
- Viewer comments on the :60 “On Our Way” reflect the appeal of both the music track(s) and the concept of showing up. Many also felt the creative successfully tied the brand into that messaging – a key strengthener of the connections made.
Sample comments on “On Our Way” :60
“Interestingly enough, this ad caught my attention. I like the message of just showing up. I liked how it showed the emotions of those who got stood up and their frustrations as well as the impact and emotions people showed when they saw their loved ones at their marathons and recitals. I like how they tied it to Uber and people being on their way to deliver.”
Female 21-35
“Definitely grabs my attention and starting with the bit of the girl bailing on the guy is a great hook, I think. An unfortunate scenario everybody has had but then the ad turned to a happy upbeat string of clips that make Uber seem more appealing.”
Male 21-35
“I related a lot to that ad. Uber Eats has come in for a single person who sometimes gets too busy to leave for dinner or someone who is sometimes sad and needs a sweet treat late at night.”
Female 36-49
“Honestly, I like how diverse the video is. I like how it shows different angles of different people too. I like that it shows you different scenarios on what people are going through about having to take a ride somewhere.”
Male 21-35
“I loved this ad. It’s something that I’ve taught my children about just showing up, so it’s a family value. I’ve taken Ubers and I’ve been satisfied. I love the music. I love the scenes.”
Female 21-35
“I loved the way the ad went from sad to happy. The way the product was presented was not intrusive, but it was woven into the story. The music choice was excellent! Well done!”
Male 50+
“I love the Beatles song, so you hooked me right there. I also love the versatility of Uber and how much the company has grown.”
Male 36-49
- Both spots enjoyed very positive reactions across age/gender and ethnicity, confirming appropriateness for the brand to employ broad reach if desired, as well as to rotate the shorter form into media plans as a brand reminder to optimize the budget.
- The :30 “On Our Way” offers the brand the advantage of quicker, higher engagement, suggesting the opportunity to target this spot in media that is potentially skippable with less risk of viewer inattention:
- Our iSpot media measurement reflects a strong favoring of the :60 “On Our Way” through 8/4/24 in national linear Impressions and Spend:
Ineffective creative, even if delivered to the right audience, results in missed opportunity and performance shortfalls. Great creative delivered poorly also results in failed campaigns.
Advertisers need to identify the creative that will drive business outcomes and ensure that in-market execution aligns against the highest potential ads.
Schedule a demo to find out how your brand can partner with iSpot to quickly solve both challenges simultaneously, delivering high-performing creative while boosting the effectiveness of planning and in-market execution to achieve—and outperform—campaign objectives.
Creative Agency: In-house