July saw Uber and Uber Eats roll out a ‘Like Us’ campaign in New Zealand leveraging their partnership with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and showing that, when it comes to food and rides, the All Blacks and the Black Ferns are just like the rest of us.
Developed in harness with creative agency Special Group, the idea is that while the All Blacks and Black Ferns are revered for what they do on the pitch, when they’re not playing rugby they use Uber Eats and Uber just the same way as the rest of New Zealand does.
Celebrating Uber’s new NZR partnership, the campaigns runs across multiple platforms – including TV, digital, social and OOH – and features All Black and Black Fern stars embracing the convenience and ease of Uber and Uber Eats through a series of highly relatable moments.
The spearhead ‘They Eats Like Us’ (promoting Uber Eats) and ‘They Rides Like Us’ (promoting Uber) spots are fronted respectively by a trio of All Blacks players (Ardie Savea, Dane Coles and Ethan de Groot) who order using Uber Eats after their attempts at cooking go awry and a team of Black Ferns (Tenika Willison, Maia Roos and Liana Mikaele-Tu’u) who show how sometimes ordering an Uber is just more convenient.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXIcCw2OA9E
The ads went live from 29 July and the partnership is further brought to life through an offer which saw Uber fund discounts on rides on ‘Uber Pool’ during the Bledisloe Cup and discounts on restaurant meals from thousands of Aotearoa’s best local restaurants across both Bledisloe matches.
The underlying aim of this discount strand was to ‘deliver matchday magic to spectators’.
“We’re excited to be linking up with both the All Blacks and the Black Ferns – and featuring them equally across the campaign – is because we know these athletes appreciate the convenience of Uber and Uber Eats when they are on the road or at home just as much as the rest of us – they’re super authentic advocates,” explained Uber APAC Head Of Marketing Andy Morley.
Special NZ GM John Marshall commented: “Most of us can’t run, tackle, kick, pass, fend and sidestep like the All Blacks and Black Ferns do. But when it comes to ordering an Uber to avoid the rain, or getting some tasty tacos delivered to our doorstep, we’re all pretty much the same. We wanted to celebrate that commonality and show that these rugby stars are human, after all.
Special Group Australia Co-CCO Julian Schreiber added: “The All Blacks and Black Ferns are typically portrayed as highly skilled rugby players in marketing, so it seemed refreshing to showcase instead their humanity by showing they order food to be delivered while relaxing in front of the TV and grabbing an Uber if they’re in a rush or want the convenience.”
The campaign was created for Uber/Uber Eats APAC and was briefed in by a client team which included Senior Director and Head Of International Marketing – Uber Lucinda Barlow, Director Of Marketing – Uber & Uber Eats APAC Andy Morley, Marketing Manager ANZ Olivia Sykes, Senior Marketing Manager/Brand Lead ANZ Channa Goonasekara, Creative Director APAC Adam Ledbury, Senior Communications Manager ANZ Nick Vindin and Communications Director ANZ Peta Fitzgerald.
The creative agency was Special Group, with production by Revolver (and Director Fiona McGee), while the social agency was Hello Social, with PR handled by Acumen, media by Essence Media, post production by The Editors (Sydney), music and sound by Liquid Studios (Auckland), photography by Steven Boniface and retouching by Jason King.
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What stands out from this campaign is that, while most player fronted sports ads focus on the elite skills and high performance levels of professional athletes, this campaign positions them as regular, relatable people who acts just like the viewer/consumer.
It was earlier in July that Uber announced it was partnering with NZR with the aim of delivering ‘five star matchday experiences for fans’.
The partnership began being activating around the 2023 Bledisloe Cup (with 50% discounts on restaurant meals from thousands of Aotearoa’s best local restaurants across both matches and lower cost rides) for the games on 29 July (in Melbourne) and 5 August (in Dunedin).
According to the agency and the brand, more than one million Kiwis used Uber and Uber Eats last year – which represents one-fifth of the total population.
“We’re honoured to be able to support the two national teams on level footing through this unique link up with New Zealand Rugby. We’ll use the partnership with the Black Ferns and the All Blacks to promote local restaurants, reward incredible driver and delivery partners across Aotearoa, spark matchday magic for loyal fans and – with the support of these champion athletes – help advance our mission to be the most sustainable platform in New Zealand,” said Uber NZ General Manager Emma Foley when the tie-up was first announced.
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