Look, I know all you millennials and Gen Z weirdos out there have cut the chord. Or never had a chord to begin with, I guess. But there are these things called commercials. Perhaps you’ve seen them between those YouTube videos you’re always watching on your phones and laptops. Or on your parents’ TV when you’re visiting them over Thanksgiving. But, to explain: these are relatively short video advertisements (usually fifteen or thirty seconds) that try to get you to buy a company’s product or use their service. Just so you know.
The thing is, even as a Gen Xer, I tend to skip by the commercials. Because I too watch things like Netflix and HBO and basically only watch non-sports live TV on my cable system’s DVR. I see the show go to break and I aim my remote at the television and fast forward through those short videos for Chevys and Apples and whatever else they’re pushing to get back to the show at hand.
So it’s rare that something catches my eye. Or, in the case of this commercial, my ear. The ironic part is that this particular spot for DoorDash is probably aimed exactly at the audience who will never see it. Because if there’s anything millennials love, it’s a food delivery service. Seriously. You kids looooove to have your food brought to you. I think DoorDash and Seamless have become verbs in your vocabulary. Boomers bring their grub to work in Tupperware (if they aren’t already retired) and Gen Xers like to get the hell out of the office, stretch their legs and eventually get halal from that same cart they always get their lunch from. But you kids sit at your desks, go on an app and then take the elevator to the lobby to grab your lunch from a dude who just arrived with a giant pack on his bike. It’s weird if you ask me.
This particular ad takes something that’s a very process-oriented thing and makes it seem fun. I don’t think the guy on the bike thinks it’s fun, but it gives some excitement to the process of sitting at your desk and picking a salad with your phone. There are several cuts of the spot, but the ones below show the excellent energy and eye-popping visuals that make a meal way more exciting than it has any right to be. They even mention some meals (like hot pot) that I’m pretty certain you can’t get to go, but… Anyway, listen to it. Watch it. The vaguely rappish word play is catchy as hell and the live-action and animated visuals are striking enough that I actually stopped my fast forward on the DVR to watch the spot. Twice.
