• by Fern Siegel , September 27, 2023

Food is emotional — the taste, the associations, the cravings. By tapping into a shared food experience, Postmates' new campaign features popular items from select local merchants available on the platform across Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.

The new campaign, from Mother in Los Angeles, is titled: "This Is Your Brain on Food."

"People’s relationship with food is anything but rational. Music, art, memories, exposure to a new culture — all of these subconscious associations leave a lasting impact on why we crave food and how we taste it. As homes to expansive food and art cultures, Austin and Los Angeles felt like the right cities to spread Postmates’ dedication to local restaurants," Biz Anderson, senior strategist, Mother LA, told Agency Daily.

The campaign includes five 15-second spots featuring donuts, hot chicken, sushi, boba, soup dumplings and BBQ. Social channels include TikTok, Instagram, X and Snapchat accompanied by a unique filter for users. Traditional OOH is splashed across Los Angeles and Austin, featuring visuals from the spots.

Nexus Design Studio engaged nine artists to create animated images.

The campaign features merchants available through the Postmates app.

"We created these little expressions, these little worlds that remind us what it feels like to eat that thing you love. Almost euphoric. Postmates celebrates that trip with you every time you get the food you crave,” said Dave Estrada, creative director, Mother.

Postmates also partnered with TikTok creators @domenicaaq and @itsbridgettebitch to secure their artistic takes on how food makes them feel. Content from the two appears later this month.

Postmates and Mother commissioned OOH murals from Los Angeles artists Akiko Stehrenberger for visualizing your brain on Nashville Hot Chicken and Jen Stark for visualizing your brain on Boba Tea.

Postmates covers 80% of US households, across all 50 states.