Deliveroo and Channel 4's Ten Part Series Tells Real Life Grocery Stories

Today, Deliveroo and Channel 4 announce a ten-part series of contextual adverts featuring real life customers and their stories of how on-demand grocery delivery could have ‘saved the day’ behind closed doors.

Created by The Outfit, the series of ads, which will play in the first ad break of popular Channel 4 shows including Gogglebox, Made in Chelsea and Grand Designs, will showcase the ordering occasions and consumer needs that drive demand for Deliveroo’s on-demand grocery offering, played out through real life people and stories.

Filmed in observational documentary style where the action unfolds in front of the camera, a diverse range of friends and family members will recount personal tales - from disaster stories and unexpected, everyday rituals - to demonstrate how on-demand delivery of groceries via Deliveroo could have conveniently solved their problem or craving in as little as 20 minutes. 

Building on the British food-delivery company’s brand platform, 'Food We Get It', the real-life stories featured in the ad series include:

‘Deliveroo Presents…The Sick Day Saviour’ where we see the Fisher family talking about when Mum was sick at home with the kids and couldn’t face getting out to the supermarket for essentials 

‘Deliveroo Presents…The Dinner Party Drama’ where viewers will see a group of friends jokingly reminiscing about a dinner party where a kitchen disaster culminated in them pretending to enjoy the hosts’ burnt ragu 

‘Deliveroo Presents…The Chicken Run’ where we see a couple Johnny and Joey recapping on the time when they cooked a roast dinner with all the trimmings, only to have it eaten by their dog when they have turned their backs

In the spots, the ads end with a prompt that Deliveroo’s on-demand grocery delivery exists as a solution. In a first for Deliveroo, six of the ten spots feature contextual links back to Channel 4’s series programming, showing’ real life’ heroes of the ads specifically mentioning the programmes in the storyline of the creative. Going a step further, two of the six contextual spots show real life reactions to instances that will happen in upcoming episodes of Made in Chelsea and Celebrity Cooking School. 

Rhianna Smith, head of marketing UKI at Deliveroo said, “Throughout this new series created in collaboration with Channel 4 we get to see real people telling stories about real life scenarios where on-demand grocery could have played a positive role in helping to solve a dilemma in their lives. As we look to drive deeper emotional connection with Deliveroo customers, these spots remind customers that we are more than food delivery - we deliver light-relief in sticky situations, a helping hand at home, a touch of joy in spontaneous moments, or whatever our customers need it to be. We hope that showcasing these relatable real life scenarios will resonate with other customers, and encourage them to trial on-demand grocery on Deliveroo.”

Initiative led the media buying and planning process, and worked alongside Channel 4 to ensure that we included as many premium programming placements as possible for Deliveroo.

Niall Murdoch, founding partner at The Outfit said, “Our target audience are time-poor, they’d rather be with their friends and family than running out to the supermarket at the last-minute, so our cast’s real-life stories aim to remind them of their own lives and times when grocery delivery could have been the solution for them. To weave their stories into the fabric of Channel 4 alongside the programmes it was important to reflect the language and tone of the Channel, with mini-title sequences, casting real friends and family to deliver genuine performances, the spots feel more like trailers for a show.“

In addition to the ten-part contextual ad series, Deliveroo has also worked with Channel 4 to secure two active and six passive product placements within two Come Dine with Me episodes in November.

Angus Mitchell, agency and client sales leader, Channel 4 said, ”This collaboration is a fantastic example of how clients are using our hugely popular programme brands to create entertaining ad campaigns that capture our audience’s attention, helping promote Deliveroo’s on-demand delivery service in an authentic way.”

The campaign will officially launch from Channel 4 on 3rd October 2022, with the first ad debuting during Food Unwrapped. The remaining spots will run on regular Channel 4 programming across TV and All 4 up until 31st December 2022.