Grubhub Pregame Super Bowl Commercial 2015: Wrong Order - Ad Analysis

This Grubhub spot is a textbook example of a simple, effective problem-solution ad. In 2015, the online food delivery market was still solidifying, and the primary competitor for services like Grubhub wasn't just other apps, but the old consumer habit of picking up the phone and calling a restaurant directly. [4, 7] The ad zeroes in on the single biggest pain point of that old method: human error.

The core insight is brilliantly simple: there's a special kind of frustration that comes from anticipating a specific meal, only to receive the wrong one. The ad takes this universal feeling and blows it up to comical proportions. The execution follows a classic Setup-Turn-Payoff structure. The Setup is immediate: a man opens his food and realizes his order is wrong (0:01). The Turn is the chase scene, which serves as a hilarious dramatization of his frustration. Instead of just being annoyed, he launches an epic pursuit across the city, screaming the ingredients of his desired Cobb salad (0:10-0:14). This is the ad's creative engine. The Payoff is delivered, cleverly, by the delivery driver himself, who becomes the ad's spokesperson. Mid-chase, he yells back the solution: use Grubhub for error-free ordering (0:15). This surprising twist, where the solution comes from the antagonist of the scene, is a smart narrative device. The final app demo and tagline, 'Click, click, food,' provide the resolution, cementing the idea of simplicity and accuracy.

From a production standpoint, the ad is clean and bright. The casting of two ordinary-looking guys makes the extraordinary chase feel more grounded and relatable. The humor isn't cynical or edgy; it's broad and accessible, which is appropriate for a Super Bowl audience. The debrief for the creative team here is straightforward: when you have a strong, simple message, you don't need to overcomplicate the execution. The ad's strength is its discipline. It identifies a clear enemy (misheard phone orders), presents a clear hero (the Grubhub app), and resolves the conflict in 30 seconds. It’s not trying to change the world; it’s trying to get you to stop calling for takeout and start clicking, and it makes a very persuasive case.