The popularity of delivery apps sky-rocketed during the pandemic. With multiple players making strategic investments in Québec, Uber Eats needed to catapult their Share of Voice and strengthen their position.

To assert dominance and win over hearts, minds, and stomachs of Québécois, the challenge was to make the Uber Eats global campaign relevant and meaningful to the Québec market.

Through the celebrated ”Tonight, I’ll be eating” construct, the brand brought together unlikely pairs of superstars in surprising, quirky ways, with the intent of impacting culture – globally, nationally, and locally.

Their goal was to adapt the campaign and create genuine conversation in earned media among the proudly unique people of Québec to establish Uber Eats as the brand that understands Québécois’ fervent passion for food, fun, and the Montréal Canadiens.

In a province where the Montreal Canadiens (local hockey franchise) is a religion, the feud between two iconic players Mario Tremblay and Patrick Roy is seen as the dramatic turning point of the team’s fate.

The idea came from one of the most dramatic moments in hockey history that all true Québécois remember. In 1995, the Montréal Canadiens’ historic winning streak ended abruptly when Patrick Roy, the beloved goalie, was left on the ice by his coach Mario Tremblay despite conceding nine goals. As Roy finally got off the ice, the two exchanged a glaring stare that still haunts fans to this day, marking his last skate with the team.

That devastating moment was memorialized as the breaking point of the team: the hockey gods cursed the Canadiens who never reached the finals ever again, and the two lifelong friends and
teammates never spoke again.

Uber Eats planned to achieve the impossible 26 years later by reuniting the two national heroes on screen in The Reunion. The strategy was to pair these two well-known hockey figures in Québec culture who would carry a strong, public tension that would naturally drive earned media in the province. The launch started with Twitter-dominant sports journalists before hitting mainstream broadcast and social channels
to perpetuate the conversation.

The campaign was first teased by a tweet from Tremblay which ignited an overwhelming response from the sports community, journalists, and fans alike. A few hours later, the 0:30 TV spot strategically aired during the highly anticipated Canadiens vs. Leafs playoff game.

Watched live by 1 million Quebecois, the spot recreated their iconic stare over a hockey table with jokes poking fun at their longstanding feud. Fans and journalists couldn’t believe their eyes and the spot immediately spread like wildfire.

The ‘Reunion' scored big in Québec overnight and quickly trended on Twitter. The campaign triggered national TV outlet ICI-RDI to make a vox pop in the streets to get live reactions from Québécois. The buzz earned headlines in every national publication with over 75 mentions and dominated broadcast and radio airwaves. The spot topped lists of best ads of the year in Québec, earning over 160 million impressions in a province of only 8.5 million residents. It was even parodied on the iconic ByeBye, a year-end television show, which was the most watched in the history of Québec television with 4.9MM tuning in.

The 30-second ad was supported by two original 15-second spots. BTS content was exclusively broadcasted on L’Antichambre - the biggest hockey TV show in Québec - and was acclaimed by fans happy to see them really being friends again. The Reunion hit meme status with GIFS flooding social channels, elevating brand sentiment for Uber Eats. Unbelievably, it also seemed to have broken the curse: for the first time since the feud, the Canadiens reached the Stanley Cup finals again.

Local restaurants also scored big with Uber Eats racking up assists in sales. The in-app contest generated over 50K unique UberEats trips, plus a $40+ basket size making it the most successful Uber Eats
campaign ever in Canada.

The Reunion ignited a hyper-cultural conversation by bringing back famed rivals to exchange more than an icy glance. This captured attention and became a widespread dialogue across the province, demonstrating Uber Eats’ understanding of French-Canadians' unique passions.

The campaign enhanced Uber Eats’ reputation in a competitive market and cemented the brand’s place in Québécois culture and in Montréal Canadiens’ lore.