Uber and Special’s US office has taken home a Cannes Grand Prix for Media for their ‘Build your own Super Bowl commercial’ campaign. The campaign also won a Gold Lion in Direct.
At this year’s Super Bowl, rather than just airing one 60-second spot, Special and Uber Eats let fans customise their own “Super Bowl” inside the Uber Eats app itself – the same way you might customise a burrito bowl or poke bowl.
‘Build your own Super Bowl commercial’ appeared in the Uber Eats app like a traditional storefront, with users browsing an interactive menu of Super Bowl ‘ingredients’ to create their bespoke commercial. Each ‘ingredient’ revealed different conspiratorial evidence, unlocking different scenes, jokes and celebrity cameos, including Addison Rae and Sauce Gardner.
Special US CEO and partner Kelsey Hodgkin says: “This is undoubtedly the most ambitious project we have carried off at Special, and we are deeply grateful to an amazing partnership with Uber Eats, that continues to be underpinned by a shared commitment to ambition and belief.
“Making the app the centre of the marketing experience for Super Bowl is not an idea for the faint hearted, and it takes a deeply invested partnership to get there.”
Fan-powered experience
The campaign built on Uber Eats’ multi-year ‘Football is for food’ platform, which argues that football has always been one big ploy to sell food.
The in-app integration is fronted by Matthew McConaughey reprising his role as conspiracy-theorist-in-chief, joined by Bradley Cooper as the sport’s most loyal defender.
“We’re honoured that ‘Build your own Super Bowl commercial’ has been recognised with a Cannes Lions Media Grand Prix,” says Uber global head of marketing Georgie Jeffreys.
“With this campaign, we wanted to move beyond a single spot and create a fan-powered experience where audiences didn’t just watch the commercial, they actually built it. It was an ambitious undertaking that reimagined what a Super Bowl campaign could be for our brand, and we’re grateful to see that spirit of creative experimentation recognised on a global stage.”
Commitment to a big idea
A Special US campaign with both creative and technological contributions from Special Australia, the experience offered over thousand possible Super Bowl commercials. There was no generative AI used, instead every frame was scripted, edited and crafted by creatives.
To pull it off, the team shot each scene traditionally, then re-engineered a CRM platform with custom code to assemble every permutation instantly, all cut to the same musical backbone with bespoke audio levels per scene.
Special US CCO and partner Matthew Woodhams-Roberts says: “A huge thanks to the jury for such incredible recognition. This campaign is a true testament to the power of complete commitment to a big idea.”
Fellow Special US CCO and partner Dave Horton adds: “After two years perpetuating the most unhinged conspiracy in the NFL, it was amazing to put it in the hands of fans inside the Uber Eats app – and amazing to see it rewarded in this way.”
