Just Eat captures the 'joy of takeaway' in first global campaign from McCann
Having unified its global creative business under McCann at the end of last year, Just Eat has unveiled its first joined up campaign, pivoting away from a focus on convenience to instead capture the simple joy of ordering a takeaway.
The brand will be hoping a unified approach can help it stand out from the growing competition in the space from rivals like Deliveroo and Uber Eats, with the launch coming just days after it revealed it had also consolidated its global media business.
The surreal TV spot at the centre of the new push, 'Did Somebody Say Just Eat', features a couple deliberating whether to order a takeaway in front of their TV.
When the suggestion is made the characters on the small screen erupt in excitement, singing a catchy, bespoke jingle. Familiar faces from the likes of Family Guy make an appearance, along with aliens and Game of Thrones-style medieval warriors.
Tailored versions of the TV ad will run in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Spain and Denmark. Followed by extensive digital, OOH and radio campaigns. Different iterations will launch later in the year in Italy, France and Switzerland.
In the UK, the spot will launch on 9 May during Channel 4’s Gogglebox and ITV show Britain’s Got Talent.
‘Did Somebody Say Just Eat’ is the first big-budget campaign from the brand since it moved it unified creative in the markets under a single agency, in a move spearheaded by recently-installed chief customer officer and interim chief exec Peter Duffy.
Earlier this week the food delivery service also streamlined its global media and planning with UM. Benefiting from Just Eat's decision to trim its agency roster, UM will now run the Just Eat's media planning in 10 markets: the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.
'A single-minded campaign'
Developed by McCann, Just Eat’s fresh creative is designed to give the brand a simple yet bold platform that resonates across multiple markets for use across channels over the long-term.
Though the creative still has a fun feel about it (with music at its heart) it marks a departure from Karmarama’s UK strategy for the advertiser. During its three years on the account, the Accenture-owned agency focused on the 'magical world' of Just Eat’s food delivery service, relaying the app’s scale and ease of use for Brits.
Commenting on the new work, Susan O’Brien, global brand director at Just Eat, said it was all about “making Just Eat synonymous with takeaway delivery.”
She added: “It celebrates how we deliver not only food but the delight people feel when their favourite takeaway arrives, no matter where in the world they are. We’ve all experienced that moment of joy when the doorbell rings and your food arrives - our new ‘Did somebody say Just Eat’ mnemonic celebrates that perfectly.”
Though Just Eat has expanded into overseas markets like North America, the UK remains its biggest. In Q1, its UK revenues increased by 28% year-on-year, but against increasing market competition order growth was sluggish at 7.4%. Overall, Q1 revenue jumped by almost a third to $227.9m.
Rob Doubal, chief creative officer of McCann UK and co-president of McCann London, said: “In a highly competitive market, stand-out and a clear brand identity are more important than ever.
"It’s been a real treat to have worked with Just Eat on such a single-minded brief and campaign. To capture the essence and joy of takeaway and distil it down to a few core elements has taken a massive team effort and a truly global spirit of collaboration. We can’t wait to see the work go live. Did somebody say Just Eat.”