DoorDash All the Ads … how the food delivery company’s Super Bowl ad became a marketing sensation, winning the Titanium Grand Prix in Cannes … and repositioned the brand as a platform to deliver anything
July 10, 2024
This year’s top marketing campaign came from DoorDash.
The brand scooped the top prize, the Titanium Grand Prix, at Cannes Lions 2024, the advertising world’s self-indulgent booze fest on the French Riviera, plus a host of other awards at the D&ADs and OneShow.
You probably know DoorDash for restaurant delivery, particularly if you live in America.
DoorDash, originally founded as PaloAltoDelivery.com in 2013 by four Stanford University students, has become a dominant player in the online food delivery market in the USA.
The business expanded rapidly, reaching 70 restaurants in the Bay Area within its first year of operations. Y Combinator reported that DoorDash grew at a remarkable rate of 20% every week. The company’s goal was to build an AI system (named “Deep Red”) to optimize delivery by considering various factors and reducing errors. Aggressive market expansion helped DoorDash surpass competitors like Grubhub and Uber Eats. Acquisitions also played a key role: DoorDash acquired Square’s Caviar food delivery service and Wolt, gaining a foothold in the European market.
In 2021, DoorDash went public on the New York Stock Exchange with a valuation of $72 billion. In 2023, DoorDash reported revenues of $8.63 billion (a 31% increase from the previous year) and an annual net loss of $558 million (a 58% reduction from 2022). The company boasts 37 million users, primarily in the United States, and holds over 60% market share in the US food delivery app industry.
Now it wants to be more than just a food delivery company.
And so to the award-winning advertising campaign.
Wieden+Kennedy, the Portland-based creative agency that grew rapidly on the coat tails of local company Nike, is the agency behind DoorDash’s award-winning ad.
DoorDash, with a new brand platform “Your Door to More”, wanted to showcase their ability to deliver just about anything.
Where better to do this than the Super Bowl? Not just by telling people that DoorDash could deliver anything, but by proving it: delivering every product advertised during the Super Bowl broadcast to one lucky person.
In the days before the Super Bowl, as brands announced they were in the game, W+K added them to a DoorDash cart creating anticipation, excitement, and speculation about how big the prize would get. Then during the game, as ads aired, we continued to add them to our shopping cart, whether a pallet of Reese’s, four separate cars, or 60lbs of mayo – creating one epic prize that spanned 76 brands.
As the grand prize grew in scale, and absurdity, we updated consumers live. Social media was clamouring for hints and prize suggestions, and by the time our ad aired in the 4th quarter, anticipation was at a fever pitch. The film was simple: it told people to visit doordash-all-the-ads.com and enter a promo code. But of course, this promo code wasn’t going to be easy. Some got mad, many made memes, but most got crafty, banding together IRL and online to crack the code.
The 30 second ad became the catalyst to hours of conversation, interaction, and social. People didn’t just watch our ad: they rewatched it, over and over again – some missed overtime entirely. By turning every Super Bowl ad into a DoorDash delivery, W+K surpassed their goal with 11.9 billion earned impressions, 8 million+ entries, nearly 300 million earned social impressions, and 117 million viewers. But most importantly, the ad captured America’s attention, proving DoorDash’s ability to deliver just about anything.
Here are some more best campaigns of the year, winners from Cannes Lions:
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is fight America’s book banning crisis. Conservative politicians are silencing Black, Brown and LGBTQIA+ voices by forcing librarians to take their books off the shelf. In 2023 alone, 3,059 books were banned – more than in any other year. DPLA holds that our democracy relies on our freedom to read. And believes books should always be available to everyone.
The DPLA created the most up to date database of all of the books banned in America. Then, geo-fenced the exact footprint of every library that banned the books – and made those books available for any person when they are within those very libraries. Sending a strong message to the book banners – that every time they try to take a book off the shelf, the DPLA will put it right back, virtually.
The Banned Book Club was launched in partnership with President Barack Obama, the most notable defender of our freedom of speech. The campaign reached people in the more than 20 states that have books banned with geo-located Instagram and Facebook ads, that alerted people just as they were near those offending libraries. The Banned Book Club is a social first, digital solution designed for the future. Whenever a book is banned – it can simply be added to our dynamic database, making it available instantly in any library. Ensuring no book is ever banned again.
Dove has long been a campaigning brand. From women, it is now focused on kids. Kids are experiencing severe mental health issues from the onslaught of seemingly endless toxic beauty content on social media. Anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, PTSD, and even suicide – the harm social media can cause has no limits. Because neither does social media. In fact, the majority of young girls say they feel the pressure to look perfect and match what they see on social media. Our brief was twofold: first, highlight the scale of the social media-induced mental health crisis among kids; and second, inspire the world to act, demand change, and save kids from the dire consequences of toxic beauty content. Our goal was to mobilize the masses by creating a single, shareable film and get viewers to sign the petition to support the Kids Online Safety Act. Dove surpassed its goal of 50,000 petition signatures for the Kids Online Safety Act, resulting in the bill passing in the Senate.
3 in 5 kids experience mental health issues from social media. So, we told the story of Mary; a real girl who almost lost her life from an eating disorder. However, we didn’t need to shoot her story, Mary already had. Using her own photos, videos, and journal entries, spanning over a decade, we created a film that shows her downward spiral after getting her first phone and joining social media. Set to an emotional female cover of Joe Cocker’s ‘You Are So Beautiful to Me,’ we see how quickly social media shapes Mary’s view of her own beauty, causing her mental health to severely struggle. At the end, we learn this isn’t just Mary’s story. It’s the story of millions of girls. The film concludes with a rallying call for people to sign the petition in support of the Kids Online Safety Act.
Mercado Libre, Latin America’s leading e-commerce platform, executed a unique campaign named “Handshake Hunt” during Black Friday. Partnering with the TV channel Globo, the campaign displayed QR codes for discounts whenever a handshake appeared on-screen. This innovative strategy aimed to increase transactions in Brazil. Targeting the online retail market in Brazil, the campaign utilized various media channels including product placement, outdoor, out-of-home, and sales promotions.
In 2023, Mercado Libre’s Black Friday campaign achieved unprecedented success. The company saw a remarkable 39% year-over-year increase in overall sales during the period, and an extraordinary 80% year-over-year boost specifically on Black Friday itself. This impressive performance stands out even more considering the challenging market conditions in Brazil, where many competitors struggled.
Nativa, a Colombian beer from AB InBev, has initiated a creative and sustainable project called Nativa Meter, aimed at repurposing its traditional bottles to aid Colombian farmers in making more informed decisions about their crops. Teaming up with the globally recognized independent agency L&C New York, Nativa has transformed its bottles into rain gauges, providing a practical solution for farmers to plan their planting seasons more effectively.
The redesigned Nativa bottles now feature measurement indicators to gauge rainfall levels per square meter. This innovative initiative aims to repurpose packaging for a positive impact on Colombian farming communities.
“Cerveza Nativa is a brand that is committed to the Colombian countryside. For this reason, for us, initiatives like Nativa Meter are essential because they allow us to innovate and find creative solutions that arise from the real needs of the community,” said Diego Pomareda, Marketing Director of Cerveza Nativa. “This is a simple way to incorporate technology into an everyday product that farmers consume, and at the same time, help prepare them to face the challenges of a world that is being affected by climate change.” added Rolando Cordova, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Offier of L&C New York.
Siemens Healthineers introduces “Magnetic Stories”, an innovative technology transforming terrifying MRI sounds into enchanting children’s audio books. Imagine the daunting roar of an MRI machine, reaching decibel levels louder than a military jet. Now, consider the impact on a child undergoing cancer treatment.
This pioneering campaign seeks to replace anxiety with awe and fear with fascination, ensuring young patients experience a journey of magic and wonder during medical procedures. By harnessing the power of storytelling, Siemens Healthineers aims to redefine healthcare experiences, making them not just tolerable, but inspiring for every child in need.
WhatsApp, the messaging service, and The Lab, the creative incubator within the award-winning production company Anonymous Content, announced the release of their new documentary, “We Are Ayenda.” This film tells the extraordinary story of the Afghan Youth Women’s National Football Team and their remarkable escape from Afghanistan after the Taliban took power in 2021. The documentary debuted during the Women’s World Cup and is now available on Prime Video.
The half-hour film, adapted and produced by The Lab and directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Amber Fares, showcases the bravery of these young women and their determination to continue playing the sport they love. The documentary aims to raise awareness of the challenges people face when forced to migrate and highlights the power of sport to unite people. It reveals the profound relationship between Farkhunda Muhtaj, the former captain of Afghanistan’s women’s national football team and a humanitarian activist, and the members of the women’s youth team.
Despite never having met in person, Farkhunda led the young women to safety through WhatsApp texts and voice messages, which are woven throughout the documentary to retell their story. “These incredible young women just want to continue competing in football and aspire to achieve their dreams,” said Farkhunda Muhtaj. “To help them escape successfully, I knew the stakes were extremely high for secure communication. If something was intercepted, whether it be their passports or IDs, not only would the mission be jeopardized but everyone’s life would be at risk.”
“From the moment we first shared this story with the WhatsApp team, we were all in awe of the girls and Farkhunda,” said Zac Ryder, Executive Producer at The Lab. “Everyone was on the same page that our number one job was to honor them and their families, which meant telling the story as authentically as possible. It takes a very brave client to sign up for something like that. We’re so fortunate to be working with such thoughtful, committed partners.” Vivian Odior, Global Head of Marketing at WhatsApp, added, “We are honored to support these brave women who are an inspiration to everyone pursuing their dreams.” The film captures the sheer determination and unwavering spirit of these young athletes, offering a unique perspective into their lives.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, women and girls have been denied their human rights, including the right to go to school, work, and play sports. According to UN estimates, eight million Afghans have been displaced from their homes due to violence, including millions of refugees now living abroad.
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