At SXSW this week EVERYONE was talking about creating ads that meet the consumer where they are at, rather than desperately begging them for “just five more seconds” of their time.
Well, this week Uber Eats – in collaboration with Special Group – has shown everyone how it’s done with its ‘period drama’ advert, featuring the much-loved Irish actress Nicola Coughlan.
The laugh-out-loud short begins with Coughlan, who plays hapless romantic Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton, watching Pride and Prejudice with gooey eyes (and fair enough, it’s very rare you’ll catch a man in 2023 saying how ‘ardently’ he loves you, it’s rare you might find a man who knows what ardently means).
She innocently types ‘period romance’ into her Uber Eats app when the doorbell rings. She opens it to find a dashing young wet gentleman (its raining) dressed in his finest Edwardian gear.
The two embark on a fairytale romance. Except it becomes less fairytale when Coughlan becomes aware of the realities of what it’s really like to date an Edwardian gent.
Problems begin to arise, such as her handsome beau being aroused by the sight of her ankles, and finding it hilarious that a woman has a job (tell me about it hun, we even have to file tax returns and everything).
Things reach a head when he confuses her hotpot cooker with a chamber pot.
The advert ends with Coughlan alone with a delightful bag of period goodies including ice cream, a hot water bottle, and period underwear.
The words come up ‘Period Romance, No. Period Relief, Yes’.
Not only does the advert tap into two highly emotional points for a lot of women – period romances and the sheer pain of having the lining of your uterus fall out of you every month – it’s also for a good cause.
On her Instagram account, Coughlan explained that proceeds from the ad would be used to help end period poverty.
“Every pad or Tampon sold via the app in Australia will result in the donation of a similar product to Share the Dignity from now until the end of the year,” she said.
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With such a well-integrated campaign and a chunk of the proceeds going towards helping other women, it is no wonder the internet has gone wild in response to the ad.
One user called the lead a ‘Walmart Colin’ in reference to Coughlan’s on-screen love interest Colin Bridgerton.
“Is it just me, or we ALL want a movie version of this spot? ❤️” another user asked.
“im dyinggg, this is perfect,” fellow Bridegrton star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan wrote.
The advert is just the latest in a string of ads for Uber Eat’s ‘Get Almost* Anything’ campaign, created by Special Group.
The integrated campaign powerhouse has employed stars including Kendall and Kris Jenner and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) for a number of ads people can’t stop talking about.
Rather than taking the stars out of their relative worlds and plopping them into an ad, they have seamlessly put Uber Eats into the world of the star, whilst touching on a VERY human question – if we really could order anything, what would it be?
Great work Special Group. It is no wonder they have been shortlisted for a B&T Award for best-integrated ad campaign. You can see the full list HERE.
