Marketing In The News

This subject piqued my interest because it is related to many popular things, including football, food, and celebrities. The NFL football season is in full swing and is a hot topic. As for food, well, food is always a great subject. Lastly, the prominent people in the commercial are NFL stars Christian McCaffrey, Matthew McConaughey, and Jerry Rice. However, I chose this article mainly because of the words "elaborate scheme" in the title. I was interested in learning what Uber Eats was implying about the NFL. 

To summarize the article "Matthew McConaughey Points Out the 'Elaborate Scheme' Going on at the NFL in Genius Uber Eats Commercial," published by People Magazine on September 24, 2024, football is a scheme to make people hungry so they buy more food. McConaughey elaborates by providing examples like turnovers, pancake blocks, and scrambles, which are terms used during games that can make viewers subconsciously crave food. He also shares how players' names can also make someone crave a food item. 

The three main takeaways from this commercial are: 

1) Uber Eats can deliver all of your game-day cravings 

2) Uber Eats is an official partner of the NFL 

3) Food is part of watching an NFL game at home 

Uber Eats' value proposition is convenient and efficient food delivery that is fast, reliable, and safe. They are transparent, affordable, and accessible. Uber Eats offers a wide variety of food choices for just a small delivery fee. The drivers will deliver to most locations, and you can track them via the app. Uber Eats requires the food locations to put the order in a bag with a safety seal to ensure it was not tampered with. 

The commercial is relevant because, as I said in the first paragraph, football season is all the rage. Fantasy football leagues are popping up, people are hosting viewings in their homes, and tickets to watch the games in person are sold out quickly. If this commercial were released in April instead of September, it would be a waste of time and money because the NFL is absent in most people's lives. By featuring famous football athletes, an NFL game on television, and many mentions of football, it is clear that Uber Eats wants consumers to know that they are a great resource during football season. People do not want to miss part of a game and go to the store for more food or something they forgot so that they can have it at their doorstep with a few clicks on an app. 

Uber Eats is not the only food delivery service. DoorDash, Postmates, and Grub Hub also deliver food to your doorstep with a few clicks on their app. However, Uber Eats is the ONLY food delivery company officially partners with the NFL. Because of this, people watching the game in person can order food and drinks through the app directly to their stadium seats. For people watching the game at home, Uber Eats constantly offers deals and discounts on game days. There are also sweepstakes for free NFL tickets. The other food delivery apps do not promote to the extent Uber Eats does. Another thing to mention is that the NFL and Uber Eats partner with food establishments like Buffalo Wild Wings, Pizza Hut, and Little Ceasars to offer deals throughout the entire football season. 

Uber Eats' marketing approach in the commercial is unique because it involves little jokes and puns throughout. A few examples are (1) the camera pans to the television for a few seconds, where a football player is signaling “feed me” in the end zone. (2) McConaughey asked McCaffrey, “Didn’t you go to Stanford?” McConaughey said that as a poke towards McCaffrey, implying that he should have been aware of the advertising he bought into. (3) When Jerry Rice appeared, he was eating a box of rice. This was a great conclusion to the commercial because it reiterated that food-sounding phrases and names make NFL viewers crave more food. 

This advertisement definitely appeals to a specific buyer persona: male and female adults who are sports enthusiasts with disposable income. They enjoy watching and being involved with sports and believe watching games is a social event. These buyers are not frugal and enjoy the convenience of impulsively buying food delivered to their doorstep. 

The marketing solution was a good approach. I liked that there is some truth to what McConaughey said about how it is all an elaborate scheme. This got me thinking about how the NFL has some lucrative marketing. Everything from the cups fans drink out of to the TV commercials, the halftime shows, the electronic banner that runs through stadiums, the partner companies, etc. I would not have done anything different if I were the brand/product manager. The advertisement was a perfect mix of funny, informative, and relatable. 

To conclude, I learned that business and celebrity partnerships can be the difference between an average ad and a super successful ad. People like familiarity, so having an extremely well-known organization like the NFL working directly with another well-known company like Uber Eats is great. The cherry on top was having three celebrities who are directly correlated with the NFL in the advertisement.