Uber One lets Taiwan know ‘You Never Have to Eat Dirt Again’ in new work via Special and Whatever

Uber One, the subscription-based membership program offering savings and deals across Uber and Uber Eats, has launched in Taiwan with a fun campaign via Special and local creative agency, Whatever.

The ‘Never Eat Dirt Again’ campaign takes the colloquial axiom ‘I have to eat dirt now’ – often used by Taiwanese when running short on money, especially when waiting for payday – and flips it on its head.

Says Shiny Lee, creative director at Whatever: “In Taiwan, there’s a local phrase, ‘I’ll have to eat dirt’, for when you’ve run out of money at the end of the month. It’s a light-hearted metaphor people use when they can’t afford fancy food. Luckily, with the great savings and deals on Uber One, you’ll never have to eat dirt again.”

Special reverse engineered the culturally sticky insight to create a series of comical scenarios that reminds value-seeking Taiwanese they’ll never have to resort to eating dirt again with Uber One’s incredible member savings and exclusive deals at their fingertips.

Says James Sexton, Uber APAC creative director, Special: “Leveraging a well-known saying allowed us to position Uber One in a culturally relevant way, and the literal portrayal of a world where people are about to eat dirt, further leans into the brand’s willingness to not take itself too seriously.”

Campaign creative playfully portrays individuals on the verge of consuming the dirt cascading from their refrigerators, microwave ovens, toasters, rice cookers, cupboards, and even cereal boxes – until they discover the cost saving value of Uber One.

The brand campaign, including hero 30 and 15 second films, runs across TV, OLV, OOH and social, while a complementary product campaign element spans OLV, OOH, social and display.

Says Melissa Chen, head of marketing, Uber Eats: “I am so proud of “our dirty baby” birthed by the best crew of local and international talent. We are able to infuse the power of an established cultural vernacular to our creative ambition and our mission to serve Taiwanese’ desires in getting the best savings and value with Uber One.”

The campaign went is live and runs through to December.

Brand Marketing – Uber Eats
Melissa Chen, Head of Marketing, Taiwan
Annie Huang, Senior Marketing Manager, Taiwan
Adam Ledbury, APAC Creative Director
Ai Suzuki, Head of Brand, Japan & Taiwan
Louisa Chu, APAC Media Lead

Creative Agency – Special Group
Tom Martin, Chief Creative Officer
Jules Schreiber, Chief Creative Officer
James Sexton, Uber APAC Creative Director
Nic Buckingham, Creative Director
Celia Garforth, Group Strategy Director
Kellie Box, Planning Director
Eileen Cosgrove-Moloney, General Manager
Lynne Carter, Team Lead
Phoebe Fielding, Senior Strategist
Surungi Hohol, Business Director
Tamara Young, Business Manager

Local Creative Agency – Whatever
Shika Hsieh, Business Director
Shiny Lee, Creative Director
Cherry Chen, Producer
Eggie Huang, Senior Copywriter
Mich Lee, Creative

Production Company – Inject Inspiration Co. Ltd
Jung Kuan, Director