Gordon Ramsay has spent decades telling people how to cook. This summer, he’s telling them not to bother at all.

The 17-time Michelin-starred chef and former promising youth footballer stars in Uber Eats first-ever global campaign, Who Could Cook At A Time Like This?, by Mother – as the world’s most passionate anti-cooking advocate during the biggest summer of football ever.

The campaign follows Ramsay as he goes door to door interrupting people mid-cook, demanding they put down the pans, turn on the football and order Uber Eats instead. Because who would really want to debone a sea bass during a penalty shootout?

In the hero film, directed by Jeff Low through Biscuit Filmworks and set to Dario G’s famed football anthem, Carnival de Paris, Ramsay conducts a series of increasingly dramatic interventions, berating unsuspecting home cooks for missing key moments of the match by being stuck in the kitchen.

Felix Richter, global chief creative officer at Mother, commented,“The entire campaign started with one very funny contradiction: Gordon Ramsay, probably the world’s most famous chef, telling people this is absolutely not the time to cook. Once we had that, everything else flowed from there. Gordon brought the perfect level of intensity, comedy and chaos to it.”

The campaign launched worldwide on June 11 and will run for five weeks across TV, social media and out-of-home in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and US.

Gordon Ramsaycommented, “When the football’s on, nobody wants to be standing over the stove stressing about dinner.  A night off from cooking isn’t the end of the world, it’s called priorities! Get the game on, order Uber Eats and enjoy it properly.”

Georgie Jefferies, global head of marketing at Uber, stated, “We wanted to find the most over-the-top and entertaining way to play up a very real truth – when the game is on, people don’t want to cook. As our first-ever global delivery campaign, it was important to lead with an idea that was universal, simple, and culturally relevant for fans everywhere – while showing how Uber Eats helps fans get the food they want delivered straight to their door, without missing a moment of the action.”

The campaign will be supported by a global social media programme designed to spark conversation throughout the tournament, alongside local market activations tailored for cultural relevance.

In France, Uber Eats has partnered with the French Football Federation on sponsorship idents featuring French national team players including Ousmane Dembélé, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne, Maghnes Akliouche, Rayan Cherki, Theo Hernandez, Mike Maignan and Désiré Doué. In Spain, localised out-of-home creative poses the question directly: “¿Cocinar? ¿Ahora?”

Credits: 
Client: Uber Eats
Global Head of Marketing: Georgie Jeffreys

Creative Agency: Mother
Media Agency: PHD
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Jeff Low
Executive Producer: Hanna Bayatti
Producer: Toby Courlander
Production Manager: Matt Bulaitis
DoP: Tom Townend
Production Designer: Paul Austerberry

Editing: Shift Post
Executive Producer: Kirsty Oldfield
Editors: Saam Hodivala, Adam Buckmaster & Chris Mckay
Edit Assist: Christina Hill

Post-Production: Time Based Arts
VFX Lead & Supervisor: Stevo Grasso
Post Producer: Chris Aliano
Colourist: Simone Grattarola

Sound: 750MPH
Sound Engineers: Sam Ashwell, Jake Ashwell & Matthew Valentine
Sound Head of Production: Rachel Saxon

Music: Mr Pape
Music Supervisor: Sam Emery
Composer & Arranger: Craig Brown