Postmates' Fever Dream Campaign Explores the Visceral Emotions Evoked by Food Favourites

Food evokes all sorts of emotions. The smell of spices dancing together in a boiling pot or the tantalising texture of ice cream in a cup (or cone) — food is an instantaneous journey into our core memory banks. By tapping into a shared spectrum of emotions caused by foods in its newest campaign, ‘This Is Your Brain on Food,’ Postmates features popular food items from select local merchants available on the platform across Los Angeles, CA, and Austin, TX.

The integrated campaign illustrates the experience that Postmates delivers: how the food that you crave — a chemical reaction wired to your brain — unlocks a distinct, visceral feeling when you take your first bite.

“We loved the idea that eating certain foods can trigger full-body experiences ranging from euphoria to comfort to even a kind of pleasurable pain (think Nashville hot chicken). And that these could be summoned on demand through our app,” explained David Kim, executive creative director of Postmates.

‘This Is Your Brain on Food’ spans short films, influencer partnerships, traditional OOH, and two commissioned OOH murals from LA artists. Every crafted aspect of the campaign reinforces Postmates as the brand that gets you and your irrational relationships with food by engagingly communicating that spot-on feeling each food elicits.

The work was created by Postmates’ creative agency, Mother in Los Angeles. Because no food feeling is the same, Mother tapped different artists to interpret what your brain experiencing food might look like–ranging from boba tea and donuts, to sushi– across out-of-home and film. Nexus Design Studio, the motion design division of production partner Nexus Studios, helped to identify the nine artists to create their interpretations through the animated VFX films. Further highlighting Postmates best-of-class merchants, the campaign features merchants available through the Postmates app.

“People are passionate about their food choices because eating is an emotional experience. What you eat says a lot about the headspace you’re in or want to be in. We created these little expressions, these little worlds that remind us what it feels like to eat that thing you love, from the spots you love the most. Almost euphoric. Postmates celebrates that trip with you every time you get the food you crave,” said Dave Estrada, creative director, Mother.

On TikTok, Postmates intentionally engaged with creators native to the respective space. Creators @domenicaaq and @itsbridgettebitch are campaign partners and will provide their artistic takes on how food makes them feel. Content from the two creators is slated for later this month.

Postmates and Mother commissioned OOH murals from renowned Los Angeles artists Akiko Stehrenberger, visualising your brain on Nashville Hot Chicken, and Jen Stark, visualising your brain on Boba Tea. The murals reside in the following locations across Los Angeles:

• West Hollywood: Cafe Carrera (Melrose Ave & Harper)
• Hollywood: on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd & Wilton Place
• Downtown LA: on the corner of East 8th Ave and S. Los Angeles Street near the Fashion District

The campaign of five 15-second short films featuring donuts, hot chicken, sushi, boba, soup dumplings and BBQ rolls out on digital platforms in September; social channels including TikTok, Instagram, X, and Snapchat accompanied by a unique filter for users; and traditional OOH across Los Angeles and Austin featuring visuals from the short films.