Uber Eats delivers expletive-filled campaign with Special and EssenceMediacom

November 10, 2025 11:24

Santa and strong language feature in Uber Eats' new "Ding Dong Deals" work.

Uber Eats’ latest campaign taps into Australians’ and New Zealanders’ penchant for swearing.

Developed with Special and EssenceMediacom, and designed to build on the brand’s “Get Almost, Almost Anything” platform, “Ding Dong Deals” uses the food delivery brand’s signature doorbell chime as a censor to block out the expletives the campaign’s characters drop when they see the deals on the Uber Eats app.

The most recent offering focuses on a shopping centre Santa Claus who swears after seeing a $10 sandwich deal. It succeeds the campaign’s other iterations released this year: one where a bridge game is interrupted when a woman discovers a burger deal; and the other where a newsreader curses on air after seeing a cheap grocery deal.

Adam Gunser from production company Good Oil directed the films.

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“Creating a platform to unite the breadth of deals on offer was a chance to spotlight some truly impressive value – made even more entertaining by using swearing as a creative device. It’s a playful way to show how surprisingly good the deals can be,” Uber Eats ANZ’s marketing lead, growth and engagement, Margot Deltour, said in a media release.

Leaning into ANZ consumers’ affinity for strong language was aimed to be entertaining and authentic, said Special’s group creative director, Alan Wilson, in the same release.

“Retail doesn’t have to be boring, and you don’t need to shout to be heard, especially in a market already full of shouty campaigns,” he said.

“So, in true Aussie and Kiwi fashion, we’re swapping shouting for swearing, because we feel that’s the kind of honesty we find entertaining.”

The campaign will run in market via out-of-home assets and social media. It is designed to be expanded “with more content, categories and surprise offers set to roll out across the year”.

At an international level, it serves as “part of a broader regional [APAC] initiative” where Uber Eats, EssenceMediacom and Special are delivering deal-centric campaigns tapping into cultural nuances, such as Taiwan’s “Lying Down Deals” and Japan’s “Guuu Deals”.

“Ding Dong Deals” follows two weeks after Special and Uber released a campaign that celebrates the convenience of being a passenger. Musician-comedian Tom Cardy and country-pop legend Shania Twain fronted that work.

CREDITS

Client: Uber Eats

Nicole Bardsley, Head of Marketing, Uber and Uber Eats ANZ

Margot Deltour, Marketing Lead Growth and Engagement, Delivery ANZ

Adam Ledbury, Creative Director, Uber and Uber Eats APAC

Tom Walter, Brand Marketing Strategy, Uber and Uber Eats APAC

Creative Agency: Special

Lindsey Evans & Cade Heyde, Partner/CEO

Julian Schreiber & Tom Martin, Partner/CCO

Peter Defries & Alan Wilson, Group Creative Directors, Uber APAC

Sophie Aitken & Matt Aitken, Creatives

Lauren Portelli, Managing Director

Rachel McEwen, Team Lead

Charlie Keeble, Business Director

Fabrizia Violante, Business Director

Alicia Aguilera, Business Director

Celia Garforth, Regional Executive Strategy Director

Heather Sheen, Group Strategy Director

Kellie Box, Strategy Director

Mahima Silwal, Strategist

Jo Howlett, Integrated Producer

Nick Lilley, Head of Stills

Di Williams, Stills Producer

Adam Shear, Head of Design

Cam Morris, Designer

John Rivera, Finished Artist

Jen Bailey, Finished Artist

Production Company: Good Oil

Director: Adam Gunser

EP: Juliet Bishop

Producer: Claire Richards

Casting: Peta Einberg

DP: Crighton Bone

Prod Designer: Arabella Lockhart

Editor: Mark Burnett

Post-Production: The Editors

Sound: Rumble

Media Agency: EssenceMediacom

Owned Channels & CRM: RX