By now everyone knows that you can get almost, almost anything from Uber Eats. The campaign has been a blast for four years. Now Special has picked up on something else that really, really matters – that feeling of relief when you don’t have to go and get almost, almost anything yourself.

The new brand platform encapsulates that feeling in a single word, Phew. It’s very human, hugely relatable, and sticks in your brain like glue. Win-win-win for the brand.

Phew shifts focus from utility to the emotional value of on-demand convenience. It comes from ethnographic research that surfaced the guilt people still feel around paying for some types of convenience, despite the mounting stresses of modern life. Phew aims to take that tension away and continue to normalise on-demand delivery as a solution to daily pressures. 

The launch campaign travels back to a time “B.U.E.” (Before Uber Eats). It finds Sam and Ollie in 2013, in their journey to make dinner, forced to track down dinner ingredients the old-fashioned way. Their inconvenient journey through the B.U.E. era is packed with 2013 cultural nostalgia, featuring cameos from LMFAO’s Redfoo and a pre-stardom Troye Sivan.

Nicole Bardsley, director of marketing, Uber Eats ANZ, commented , “Over the last four years, we’ve built incredible familiarity around the promise to ‘get anything’ delivered to your door. With ‘Phew’, we’re tapping into something deeper – the emotional relief of this convenience. Special has once again delivered a platform that reflects how Australians live today, combining sharp cultural insight with high-craft entertainment.” 

Celia Garforth, Special CSO (Uber APAC), added,“’Phew’ represents a critical strategic shift for the brand. As the on-demand food delivery category has matured over the past decade, they no longer need to drive basic awareness of what they do, but instead focus on why it brings value to people’s lives. Uber should be applauded for the brave simplicity of owning a single, highly distinctive word – in fact, sound! – that exactly captures the essence of how we want people to feel when they think of the brand.”

Simon Gibson and Nils Eberhardt, Special ECDs, stated, “Evolving a brand platform after four incredible years of ‘Get Almost, Almost Anything’ is a rare creative challenge. ‘Phew’ allows us to pivot from functional awareness to emotional connection. Transporting people back to 2013 was a fun way to remind everyone just how friction-heavy life was before on-demand delivery became second nature.”

The hero film is supported by OOH, audio, and social creative capturing universal Phew moments, from discovering you’re missing a vital component midway through a DIY project to the instant relief of an end-of-week craving arriving at your door. The Australia-wide campaign covers TV, BVOD, online video, YouTube, social, radio, digital audio, OOH, DOOH, CRM, custom high-impact special builds, and consumer activations.

Get Almost, Almost Anything successfully broadened perceptions of Uber Eats beyond takeaway in more than 17 international markets. It succeeded the platform that kicked off the Special-Uber Eats partnership nine years ago, Tonight, I’ll Be Eating…, also globally. 

Credits
Client: Uber Eats
Senior Director, Head of International Marketing: Lucinda Barlow
Director APAC Marketing: Ally Doube
Director of Marketing, ANZ: Nicole Bardsley
Sr Marketing Manager, ANZ: Rebecca Macciolli, Dan Greenberg, Tom Walter
Global Creative Director, APAC: Adam Ledbury
Media Lead, APAC: Rob Maddison
Legal, ANZ: Michael Coutts
Communications Manager, ANZ: Joshua O’Connor
Social Media Manager, ANZ: Haley El
Head of International Marketing Strategy: Josh Pickstone

Creative Agency: Special
CEOs & Partners: Lindsey Evans & Cade Heyde
CCOs & Partners: Tom Martin & Julian Schreiber 
Executive Creative Directors: Simon Gibson & Nils Eberhardt
Creative Directors: Joe Ranallo & Will Winter-Irving
Creative Team: Hannah McCowatt & Laura Grimshaw
Managing Directors: Tori Lopez & Lauren Portelli
Team Leads: Laura Little & Rachel McEwen
Senior Business Director: Charlie Keeble
Business Managers: Tamara Young & Annabel Malouf
Chief Strategy Officer (Uber APAC): Celia Garforth
Senior Strategy Director: Henry Bilson
National Head of Production: Tash Johnson
Executive Producer: Tania Jeram
Social Producer: Olivia Jeavons
Stills Producer: Di Williams
Head of Design: Adam Shear
Designer: Hamish Kennelly
Production Assistant: Serina King 
Senior Video Editor:  Aleks Manou
AI Artist & Creator: Nathaniel Kiwi
National Head of Social (PR): Maddie Marovino
Creative Strategy Director (PR): Kate Wilkinson
Senior Social Media Manager (PR): Niamh Thompson

Production Company: 3and7                        
Director: Steve Ayson                                     
Cinematographer: Sam Chiplin                                
Producer: Allison Lockwood                                      
1st AD: Jeremy Fitzgerald
Production Designer: Nicki Gardiner                        
Costume Designer : Joanna Mae Park                    
Casting Director:  Natalie Harvie @ Citizen Jane         

Post Production: ARC                                                                             
Editor: Jack Hutchings                                        
Assistant Editor: Jack Charter                                           
Colour Grade: Trish Cahill                                             
Finish: Jesse Meha & Viv Baker         
Finish Assisted by Tina Giannoulis
Producer: Sally Quade                                          
Executive Producer: Winnie O’Neil                                                         

Sound: Studio Tonic                                                   
Lead Sound Designer: Cameron Milne                     
Sound Producer: Luci Doling 

Social:
Director: Matt Sav
Cinematographer: Trudi Gultom 
Offline Editor: Matt Sav & Stewart Arnott
Online Editor & VFX: Augusto Ketlika Jr. 
Sound: Jackson Lister @ Studio Tonic 
Music Supervision: Level Two Music + Mayflower                                                                                                                             

Media Agency: EssenceMediacom
Retail Agency: RX