AdMiration feature: Uber’s “On Our Way”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we researched Uber’s “On Our Way" ad. The ad is part of their campaign created to depict Uber’s ​​commitment to showing up for people so they can be there for all of life’s moments. 

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

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 that appears on screen, which says, “I think I’m gonna bail.” The scene then changes to that of a man sitting in a chair on his phone, with messages popping on screen that say, “Sorry. Can’t make it tonight.” 

Another scene opens to a woman walking outside and recording video, saying, “Well, first date in Chicago and I got stood up!” The setting changes to a man sitting alone, blowing out a single candle on a slice of chocolate cake 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. 

The words, “We all need someone to show up for the big day” appear across the screen with scenes of friends hugging each other during a marathon, a young girl at her recital and finally, a woman picking up two large UberEats bags appear on screen with the message: Or Just a Wednesday. 

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. 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.

• It’s 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; however, 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.

The campaign marks the launch of a new global slogan for Uber: “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 among audiences 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.

“On our way depicts the joy and delight that we all get when we see a ride is en route or a delivery is on the way. The feeling of someone showing up for you is widely universal and uniquely human – especially at a time when people are more isolated than ever before, it feels good to know that someone is on their way,” said Jill Hazelbaker, Uber’s CMO and SVP of Communications, about the new approach. 

“For years, we’ve been a moving car icon on your phone. But “On our way” means so much more than just a ride or delivery. It’s our commitment to being there for you so you can show up for all of life’s moments, big and small.”

The ad scores in line with the average US ad in potential to drive short-term sales (sales impact: 36) and in the top 25% in potential to drive brand equity and long-term sales (brand impact: 79). 

Tech ads, alongside those for financial services and telecommunications brands, tend to score lower on average compared to ads for consumer packaged goods or restaurant brands. Among a tech norm, including ads for apps, social media and software, this Uber ad fairs significantly better sitting in the top 40% in potential to drive short-term sales (sales impact: 62) and in the top 10% in potential to drive a long-term impact (brand impact: 94).

One element service brands particularly struggle with is branding. Based on our wider Amplify system dataset, service brands have a harder time than CPG or Restaurant brands to get their branding across in their communications as on average less people spontaneously recall them after watching an ad. 

This ad had strong brand presence with 70% of the audience correctly remembering Uber as the brand advertised after watching it among a reel of ads versus 62% for an average US tech ad. Against a total country norm, Uber’s ad performed directionally above, although statistically in line with the average ad (unaided brand recall: 70% vs 68% norm). 

While the brand wasn’t revealed until over half way through the ad (35 seconds in), over 50% of the viewers said they were able to recognize it through the logo or key product assets like the app interface or green delivery bags where the brand name is very prominent. 

The most successful factor of the ad was its ability to connect with the audience emotionally, giving the brand a real purpose in people’s lives. It significantly outperforms the average US ad in emotional engagement (overall emotion: 62% vs 56% norm), taking them on a journey from start to finish.

In the beginning, the ad showcases loneliness (people being stood up, cancellations) and it makes the audience feel sad for those portrayed in the ad. The “dislike” reaction peaks a number of times during the first twenty seconds; however, it is followed by multiple peaks of “love” and “like” when people are seen showing up for others with the help of Uber. The movie clips where actors famously say the line “I’m on my way” mark the beginning of the change in tune in the ad, leading to the communication of Uber’s ​​commitment to being there for people so they can show up for all of life’s moments, big and small. 

This commitment and the uplifting clips the ad showcases in the second half ultimately shape how the audience is left feeling at the end of it. Almost 90% of viewers are left feeling positively with 30% selecting the “love” emoji when asked how the ad made them feel overall (vs 28% norm) and 57% selecting the “like” emoji (vs 49% norm). 

People really enjoyed the music in the ad and how it was used to shape the story. Transitioning from Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” into “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles was an incredibly choiceful and clever move to solidify the change in tone of the ad. The musical appeal score of the ad was significantly higher than that of the average US ad (4.2 vs 3.8 norm). Plus, when asked what they liked about the ad, 13% of viewers spontaneously mentioned the music. 

Here’s some other elements people loved about the ad:

• "I actually liked the whole ad, especially the little sad girl who gets excited to see someone. And the guy who orders coffee, also the teddy bear that got an Uber for his bestie. Too cute."

• "I loved that it showed them getting you to the things that really matter. They trusted them to show up and they did. That's super important."

• "That the ad played a song from my generation via The Beatles. From the sad looking faces of the people shown at the beginning when they employed uber their facial composure changed to happy faces."

• "It was uplifting to see all the ways people's lives can be made better by using Uber. The music added a lot to the ad."

• "I like that they showed a variety of people and a variety of different situations. And I like that they showed all the different ways that Uber can help."

Through the ad, Uber successfully conveyed brand attributes that are extremely important in the category, significantly outperforming the category drivers score compared to the average US ad (category drivers 41 vs 33 norm). The top three attributes people thought were communicated about the brand by the ad were selected by over half of the audience: “is reliable” by 62%, “is for everyone” by 55% and “provides great service” by 53%.

While the ad scored significantly below the norm on purchase uplift (2% vs 19% norm) given Uber’s very high pre-exposure levels of consideration (70%), it clearly communicated how the brand has a meaningful purpose in people’s lives (brand meets needs: 4.2 vs 4.0 norm).

This drove people to see the brand in a better light with over two thirds of the audience saying the ad made the brand more appealing. While it doesn’t necessarily make people want to engage with Uber straight away, it certainly leaves a lasting impact on the audience, driving positive brand associations that in turn drive consideration in the long run. 

This was a very touching and ultimately positive ad from Uber! 

What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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