Hamburglar Hits the Road
Uber Eats & DoorDash Super Bowl ads, Delivery Hero sells Deliveroo stake, green fleet sizes
What’s more iconic — the Super Bowl, or a tricked out 1970’s Plymouth Barracuda? We’ve got fun updates for both, plus some stock market drama, all in today’s Modern Delivery.
Today’s edition is brought to you by Curbivore — prices jump Friday!
Today:
McDonald’s Revs the Hamburglar’s Burgercuda
DoorDash & Uber Eats Make Super Bowl Ad Plays
Chart Time | Who’s Got the Biggest Green Fleet?
Delivery Hero Exits Deliveroo Ownership Stake
ADS | McDonald’s Touts New Menu with Hamburglar’s Burgercuda
If it moves in the service of food, you know we gotta cover it! So, peep your eyes on the Hamburglar’s “Burgercuda,” a souped up (burgered up?) 1970 Plymouth, tearing up the pavement from coast-to-coast. Piloted by McDonald’s most mischievous of mascots, hungry humans who spot the vehicle and scan a code can win gift cards or themed merch. Mickey D’s helpfully notes that if you have trouble spotting the car (really?) you should look for its outfit-matching white and black stripes, a spare tire shaped like a cheeseburger, a burger warmer in the center console (seems kinda intimate if you’ve noticed that…) and a license plate that says RBL RBL. Personally, we would have had the car waft the Golden Arches’ iconic french fry smell.
The Big Picture: The Hamburglar’s road rage serves a very noble goal: reminding consumers about recent improvements to McDonald’s “classic” menu items. Hamburglar first appeared on TV in early 1971 (maybe he bought the last car on the lot) which was right after the Big Mac went nationwide. So it’s fitting that he’s back in action to tout that McD’s burgers now supposedly have softer buns, more perfectly melted cheese, juicier onions and even more sauce. This stunt was envisioned by comms agency Golin, a longtime collaborator with the burger giant, while Sean Smith Designs kitted out the car.
PARTNER | Curbivore Ticket Prices Jump Friday
We’re just two months away from Curbivore, our annual industry gathering. While we’ve just announced our latest and greatest partners, you need to act fast, because ticket prices jump Friday. Score your $175 tickets while you still can!
3PD | Uber Eats, DoorDash Tease Super Bowl Ads
Ahh the big game, where iconic consumer brands score big awareness plays. While kickoff might not be for until 2/11, DoorDash and Uber Eats are already teasing their playbooks. Uber Eats is playing the culture card, with a spot that builds off of a viral moment from David and Victoria Beckham’s Netflix doc. (Football, futbol, close enough.) DD is going in a somewhat different direction, with “DoorDash All the Ads” where one lucky winner will be delivered items that correspond to every *other* commercial that aired during the big game: Popeye’s chicken, a Kia, mayonnaise, even Jake from State Farm’s outfit.
The Big Picture: Once you step back from the glossy clips and assess the ads, there are two different messages being hammered home here. UE and its “forgetful” stars are reminding you that Eats can be used last second, to solve for something you forgot to get, with the solution being rapidly brought to your door. DD is instead playing up breadth, showcasing how you can supposedly get anything and everything on its platform. Here’s a question, since they’re evidently bringing one item from *every* other Super Bowl ad, will that also include an Uber Eats gift card?
CHART TIME | Green Fleets Grow Slowly
Deliverers talk a big game about transitioning to green vehicles, but who’s actually putting their money where their mouth is? Looks like DHL is leading the pack when it comes to electric vans and trucks; it’s always the dang Europeans!
FINANCE | Delivery Hero Sells off Deliveroo Stake
Berlin-based Delivery Hero sold off its entire ownership stake of London’s Deliveroo, fetching £77M ($97.9M USD) in the process. DH had owned 4.5% of its fellow 3PD, representing about 68 million Class A shares. It garnered £1.13 a share from institutional buyers, less than the prevailing market price of £1.22. Delivery Hero noted the proceeds would go towards “general corporate purposes.” DH bought its stake back in August 2021, when the stock was worth about £3.60 a pop.
The Big Picture: The sale seems timed with the approaching three year anniversary of Deliveroo’s IPO, at which point founder Will Shu’s dual class shares, which give him the ability to block hostile takeovers, expire. That takeover had once looked like a tempting option for DH, given that it lacks operations in the U.K., and it would let the companies call off their arms race in the Middle East and Asia. Maybe DoorDash will take a bite instead?
A Few Good Links
ICYMI — our interview with Grubhub VP of Logistics PJ Poykayil. Instacart continues food as medicine push with HHS partnership. Instacart hits 96% coverage penetration for SNAP households. DoorDash unveils Valentine’s Day promos. CiCi’s Pizza evolving towards entertainment. Olo settles shareholder suit for $9M. Kernel raises new funds from sports stars. Hy-Vee adding healthcare to supermarkets. Walmart splits stock to encourage employee ownership, plans 150 new stores. Costco opens first Business Center in Anchorage, offers 2-day delivery across the state (even the Bush?) UPS may sell Coyote Logistics. Yelp updates app. Mullen trucks / vans qualify fr CARB certification. UPS cuts jobs. Robomart partners with Pix Moving. Le-Vel launches Myfresh meal kits, featuring food that’s never frozen. Domino’s customers raise $16M for St Jude’s. Brinker (Chili’s, Maggiano’s) quarterly rev rises to $1.074B. Starbucks quarterly earnings surge 20%, plans new afternoon drinks. Home delivery helped disabled people gain food access during the pandemic, how do we build on that success?
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