Uber’s “On our way”

Welcome to the AdMiration newsletter! Each week we analyze new and noteworthy ads from brands around the world to give you our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection).

This week’s ad: “On our way”???

Uber’s latest campaign marks the launch of a new global slogan for the brand: “On Our Way,” as well as a new sonic identity introduced at the end of the ad.?

The new slogan uses a commonly used phrase to showcase the brand as reliable, trustworthy and —? most importantly — understanding of its users. The sonic cue was developed to continue to connect Uber’s sub brands, solidify the brand identity and reflect the promise of Uber, which will be incorporated into future campaigns and its app in the coming months.

The ad opens to a woman reaching for her phone from her bedside table as Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” plays in the background. As she lays in bed, she sends a text message which says, “I think I’m gonna bail.” The next scene shows a man sitting in a chair on his phone, with messages popping on screen that say, “Sorry. Can’t make it tonight.” More scenes of people being stood up appear, ending with the words: Sometimes just showing up makes all the difference.?

This sets off a montage of classic movie scenes with stars saying the phrase “I’m on my way” as The Beatles’ “I wanna Hold Your Hand” plays.?

Another montage of daily scenes are shown, coinciding with the phrases, “When you crave something,” “Or miss your best friend.” Concluding with scenes of UberEats drivers on the road and delivering orders, while the words “We’re on our way. So you can be on yours.” run across the screen.?

The ad closes to a black screen with the Uber logo and “On our way” in white text.?

3 facts

• The ad scores in line with the average US ad in potential to drive short-term sales and in the top 25% in potential to drive brand equity and long-term sales. Based on our wider Amplify system dataset, we see that service brands tend to have a harder time than CPG or QSR brands getting their branding across in their communications, so this brand impact score is notable. And with that in mind, within a tech norm the ad fairs significantly better, scoring in the top 40% of US tech ads in short-term potential and in the top 10% in long-term potential.

• The ad is emotionally engaging, taking the audience on a journey that ends on a high with peaks of love and significant outperformance in the overall “like” feeling.?
• People understand the associations the ad is trying to convey and feel like it clearly communicates attributes of the brand that are highly important when it comes to consideration, like reliability of service.?

2 learnings

• Evoking a negative emotion in your ad is not necessarily a bad thing. It can work well in building towards a favorable conclusion, contrasting with and maximizing the impact of the positive emotions conveyed. For this to work successfully, it’s important to end on a high where the original negative emotions are resolved in a way that is memorable and feels good to people.?
• In categories where brands often focus on communicating around the functionality of their product, taking a human approach and understanding what truly matters to the consumer and how your brand plays a part in that goes a long way.

1 reflection

Are you clear on the type of growth your ad should be driving for your brand??

Some of the most successful campaigns are able to drive both short and long-term impact for the brand, but not all advertising needs to deliver on both at all times.?

Many highly effective campaigns have been designed to mostly have an immediate impact on brand sales OR to work harder in building positive mental associations that make the brand more salient and attractive in the longer term.

For more data & analysis

There’s a lot more to say about this ad!

To read more: Go to the Zappi blog for a more detailed look at this ad’s performance — including more about the impact of music in the ad.

To watch more: Check out our video on YouTube where I walk through the data within the Zappi platform with Isabella Franzini Monteiro , Zappi’s insights manager.

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Until next week,

Kim Malcolm