Delicious at Your Door: DoorDash + M/H VCCP

 

DoorDash, the on-demand destination connecting customers with their favorite restaurants through door-to-door delivery, is announcing the launch of its first integrated national TV campaign in the United States. The campaign, created in partnership with advertising agency M/H VCCP, will run across broadcast, digital, social and out-of-home channels from January 14th to March 31st.

The new campaign comes on the heels of DoorDash’s momentous year. In 2018, DoorDash tripled its valuation to more than $4 billion and quintupled its national footprint to 3,000 cities. Now that DoorDash is available to more than 80 percent of Americans, the company has reached critical mass and is ready to invest in TV spend to increase brand awareness nationwide.

The brand campaign, “Delicious at Your Door,” introduces DoorDash’s unrivaled selection of leading restaurant brands, featuring popular national chains on the platform including The Cheesecake Factory, Chipotle, and Wendy’s. Local TV spots will highlight city fan favorites available through the platform, including Portillo’s in Chicago and Mendocino Farms in Los Angeles. The TV campaign showcases a broad range of food delivery use cases—from a new mom in a maternity ward to a dorm room crammed with college students—to illustrate how DoorDash offers customers the possibility of more time for themselves and others. 

“Food brings us together and is an essential reality for everyone. We were fascinated by the idea of every door opening you up to a different scenario, showcasing the world of possibilities when it comes to eating,” said David Bornoff, Head of Brand at DoorDash. “We want all of our new and existing DoorDash customers to walk away knowing that DoorDash has all of their favorite restaurants for any occasion at the tap of a button.”

The TV spot, created by critically acclaimed director duo, Greg and Lio, shows viewers a semi-surrealist world in which the bounds of gravity and laws of physics don’t apply. By grounding the scenes in relatable examples, viewers move freely between a fantastical world while maintaining a strong sense of practicality. A door motif is featured throughout the spot to reinforce the broad, diverse audience set for on-demand food delivery. Working with Lital Gurai, a Tel-Aviv based Art Director, the set design and art direction was brought to life using the DoorDash brand color palette through a rich series of hues infused into each room and wardrobe.

“Our world is changing rapidly, and so is the way we eat. We can all relate to feeling too exhausted to cook, or the desire for a pick-me-up comfort food when working late. Our story focuses on the reality of today’s consumer experiences, as we showcase all of the different places and people who use DoorDash,” said Kelsey Wilkins, Associate Creative Director at M/H VCCP.

“Our aim was to create something visually delightful in order to elevate the spot beyond the everyday scenarios typical to the category. Ultimately, we hope the campaign drives acquisition but also creates equity for the brand,” said Adam Ledbury, Associate Creative Director at M/H VCCP.

To celebrate the debut of its first national TV campaign, DoorDash will unveil fun interactive challenges via social and email for the chance to win exclusive offers. Follow @DoorDash on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for details, launching on January 18, 2019.

 

Tell us about your role in the creation of this work.

We were the lead creative team.

Adam Ledbury, ACD

Kelsey Wilkins, ACD

Give us an overview of the campaign, what is it about?

Our world is changing rapidly, and so is the way we eat. We can all relate to feeling too exhausted to cook, or the desire for a pick-me-up comfort food when working late. Our story focuses on the reality of today’s consumer experiences, as we showcase all of the different places and people who use DoorDash.

Tell us about the details creative brief, what did it ask?

Our target audience was very broad – everybody eats, after all. However, the way we get our food is very different based on where we live. In larger cities, DoorDash faces heavy competition with delivery apps. But in smaller cities, some people aren’t even aware they can get food delivery. We also had to play up restaurant selection, as that’s a key differentiator for DoorDash. Everything was in service to getting people to try us, choose us, and love us.

Which insight led to the creation of this piece of work? We knew we needed to focus on use cases. For example, DoorDash is a popular choice for parents, or people working late in an office, etc. We wanted to make sure we showcased scenarios that people were familiar with, but in a memorable, visually interesting way.

Can you share with us any alternative ideas (if any) for this campaign? Why was this idea chosen?  Actually, it began as a jingle. We wrote a full song and even did a demo. But, overall, it didn’t seem to communicate everything we needed to accomplish strategically. We almost didn’t present our final concept, and just as we were about to go back to the drawing board, in the last few minutes of the meeting we mentioned the concept to the clients and they loved it.

What was the greatest challenge that you and your team faced during development.

For us, the creative challenge was to make a spot with a lot of messaging seem interesting to a huge variety of audiences. A kid's birthday party or dorm room sounds mundane on paper, but when you add paper mache planets or multiplying clones, suddenly it becomes something you want to watch again to catch new details you may have missed the first time.

What did you enjoy most about seeing this campaign through? Did you learn anything new from the experience?

The best part was seeing it all come to life in production. The set builds were beyond what we could have imagined. It’s one thing to concept an idea, but when you can add that extra magic with practical effects and incredibly crafted set builds and see it all come together before your eyes, it’s truly special.

Where do you see this campaign going in the future?

The beauty of this concept is it opens doors (pun intended) to a lot of opportunities. It’s a concept that’s repeatable as we explore what goes on behind closed doors. We love how it brings the DoorDash brand to life visually, and we’re excited to see where it goes next.