Page 61 - AdNews Magazine Nov-Dec 2020

“That comedy skit structure allows us to have people in the ads that probably wouldn’t do ads because they’re not endorsing Uber Eats, they’re not providing a product or there to talk about the benefits of the product,” Martin says.
“All they’re doing is telling you what they had for dinner.”
From the first year of its inception, it became clear that A-listers were not the key to success in each ad. Rather it was the cultural icons.
“In year one, Toadie out of Neighbours shouldn’t have been the biggest hit of the first set, but he was,” Martin says.
The TIBE Bible
TIBE has taken on many different iterations. The Australian Open Ambush featured tennis stars like Nick Kyrigos and Rafael Nadal turning to camera as if during the middle of their tennis match to share what they ordered on the food delivery app. Tonight Kim and Shaz Will Be Eating saw Magda Szubanski’s character Sharon Strezlecki, out of the TV show Kath & Kim, sit down for a meal with Kim Kardashian. News presenters Ray Martin and Lee Lin Chin shared Uber Eats meals over a game of chess.
While each is different and no person appears twice, there are certain assets and nuances that are common to every ad, both here in Australia and overseas. Schreiber refers to these codified assets as “an evolving TIBE bible”. This has been important as the platform continues to go global.
“It establishes the ground rules for the kind of people we want to be involved in the campaign,” Scheiber says.
“We try not to use the word celebrity. Instead we try to say, ‘cultural icon’. It means a good TIBE in, say Japan, is usually people that Tom and I have never heard of.”
These cultural icons will be involved in a certain situation, which Schreiber and Martin refer to as the “third person”.
“That comedy skit structure allows us to have people in the ads that probably wouldn’t do ads.”
Tom Martin,
Special Group Australia
“I think the third character is what is actually the secret to what people really enjoy,” Schreiber says.
“It’s not that we just bring famous people together. It’s the fact that you can feel Uber Eats’ sense of humour in actually replac- ing Kim with a different Kim.”
In addition to the situation, the way “Tonight I’ll be eating” is said is also really important.
“You have to be involved in doing something and then break it, turn to camera and announce like you’re talking to a room full of people, with a pause, ‘Tonight I’ll be eating...’. There’s a whole thing to it,” Scheiber says.
Other elements in the ads include a doorbell and an arm with an Uber Eats bag.
“There’s all these codified assets that make up a TIBE ad, and then you just build a world or build company around that moment,” Martin says.
Culture Club
From the president of Taiwan tweeting “Tonight I’ll be eating...” to the drag costumes and TikToks inspired by Tonight, Kim & Shaz Will Be Eating, the brand platform has begun to indent itself as part of popular culture.
Building on Kim & Shaz was something the team knew would be hard, so they opted for left of field when they pitched for the US business.
“Where do you go from Kim and Sharon in Australia? I think with Mark and Patrick, it’s doesn’t feel like a natural progression,” Martin says. “It feels like something totally dif- ferent which is good.”
Martin and Schreiber, unable to fly to the US, Zoomed and worked with a local team.
Following the US ad with Hamill and Stewart, the agency released another with gymnast Simone Biles and Queer Eye star Johnathan Van Ness which sent the internet into a frenzy.
“What we’re learning is to make note of what works, but at the same time don’t have any rules,” Schreiber says.
“Because having that flexibility is what allows you to do an AO (Australian Open), and at the same time do a Kim and Sharon.”
Lee Lin Chin and Ray Martin
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