john st. & Blinkink for DoorDash's first Canadian campaign "every neighborhood"

The brand launches its first major Canadian campaign and first collaboration with new agency partner, john st. 

Among businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants have been hit particularly hard. With restrictions imposed on indoor dining and recommendations to stay close to home, delivery has become an essential service for both restaurants and consumers. This has also given rise to a movement to support local establishments.

To celebrate the local restaurants that are the cornerstones of neighbourhoods across Canada, food delivery service DoorDash has launched a campaign to remind diners that delivery and take-out can not only support local restaurants, but their neighbourhoods as well. 

“Every neighbourhood in your hands,” takes viewers on an animated journey of miniature neighbourhoods like Montreal’s Chinatown, Toronto’s Kensington, or Vancouver’s Gastown. As a DoorDash courier cycles through “the flavourhood,” as it’s referred to in the spot, foodies can spot local mainstays like Toronto’s Kinton Ramen and original plant-based chain Fresh, Montreal bistro Mandy’s, Vancouver’s Tacofino, or legendary Calgary burger joint Flipp’n Burgers. And of course there is a Tim Hortons. The spot, directed by Stevie Gee & Essy May of London’s Blinkink, is underscored by a remix of the iconic track “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” originally written by Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, and finishes with a reminder of what DoorDash truly delivers – every neighbourhood to your hands.

“DoorDash celebrates our neighbourhood restaurants and the go-to faves that make Canada such a unique and vibrant food culture,” says Heather Cameron, Senior Brand Manager at DoorDash. “We are proud to support our passionate restaurant partners, dedicated Dasher team, and community of customers, and this work reflects that.”

john st. Executive Creative Director Cher Campbell says, “DoorDash has this amazing origin story – it was founded to support and empower local economies and their entrepreneurs. Through this campaign we are showcasing just a few of the unique neighbourhoods and culinary gems across the country.”

The campaign features :60, :30 and :15 video installations and is in market through December 27. It’s complemented by regional OOH and print, digital video, display and Spotify audio. A social specific buy on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat round out the fully integrated campaign. The campaign will continue throughout Q4 with contextual OOH, digital media purchased through Wavemaker, and the launch of Canadian social media handles – Facebook @doordashca & Instagram @doordash_ca – by Church & State. In addition,  #DashSquad will be kicking off in Vancouver at the end of October, which is managed by DoorDash’s Experiential and Influencer agency Ruckus Digital. The program will have local influencers and celebrities surprising highly deserving customers with their orders and encouraging the audience to acknowledge those in their lives that deserve a moment. For the Quebec market, a DoorDash produced web series created by Radiance will be running on CBC’s ICI TOU.TV. 

Created as a response to the pandemic, it’s fitting that how this campaign came together was unconventional. Cameron says she set out to disrupt the “traditional” client/agency process from the outset, and working under the restrictions of COVID forewent the traditional pitch process by issuing a 48-hour challenge to a shortlist of agencies. “We asked the agencies to respond to one strategic question on a single page and gave full support to collaborate together on that work. No creative spec work was allowed and fair compensation for the work set up this challenge as a simple and powerful relationship chemistry test under time pressure,” Cameron says.

. was immersed in a rapid onboarding, workshopped an experimental approach to define a new positioning for the international brand, and led a collaboration with partners spanning the globe to launch a fully integrated campaign – all while working remotely. To this day, none of the team members involved in the making of it have met in person. As Stephanie Hurst, President at john st. says, “Developing trust, hashing out problems, and creating the personal connections that are critical to a healthy agency/client relationship have all been made more complex by COVID. It’s been weird at times and DoorDash has challenged us to shake up our familiar ways of working, but we’re learning a lot and we’re immensely proud of the work our team has done.” 

Client: DoorDash

VP Marketing: Kofi Amoo-Gottfried

Head of Canada: Brent Seals

Sr. Director Consumer Marketing: David Bornoff

Sr. Brand Manager – Canada: Heather Cameron

PR Communications Manager: Cat McCormack

Director Consumer Marketing: Katie Coffee

Sr. Manager Partnership Marketing – Canada: Sarah Behrens

Sr. Director, Consumer Marketing Strategy & Planning: Mike Lorenzen

Sr. Manager Growth Marketing – Canada: Carly Steinberg

Manager Growth Marketing: Helen Pfeiffer

Associate Growth Marketing: Scott Oakes

Sr. Associate Growth Marketing: Marie-Eve Themens

Strategic Partner Manager: Ryan Frome

Associate Manager Social Media: Darcy Dellara

Sr. Manager Social Media: Tiffany Black

Agency: john st.

Executive Creative Director:Cher Campbell

Chief Strategy Officer: Megan Towers

Creative Director: Christian Buer

Associate Creative Director / Copywriter: Marc Levesque

Associate Creative Director / Art Director: Dan Cantelon

Associate Creative Director / Copywriter: Robbie Percy

Associate Creative Director / Art Director: Caroline Friesen

Executive Director, Production / Producer: Cas Binnington

Head of Production / Producer: Aimee DeParolis

Sr. Strategist: Brittany Dow

Client Service Director: Ryan O’Hagan

Team Lead: Caitlin Bourada

Integration Lead: Tina Obersnel

Studio Director: Jackie Goshgarian

Production Artists: Heather Lee, Melina Furlong, Erin Wheatley, Andrew Brennan

Proofreading Lead: Molly Barber

TV Partners:

Production Company: Blinkink

Directors: Stevie Gee & Essy May

Producer: Gareth Owen

Executive Producer: Bart Yates

Director of Photography: Matthew Day

Production Manager: Sandy Liddle

Editor: William Barnett

Graphic Designer: Nick Dart

2D Animators: Andrew Clarke, Olly Montagu

Costumes: Frenzy Ltd

Interior Set Build: Jennifer Kidd

Set Build: Anarchy Ltd

Model Makers: Alice Simonato, Kat Simpson,Emily Bates, Mara Frampton, Adeena Grubb

Scenic Painter: Richard Davidson

Home Economist/Food Stylist: Kostas Stavrinos

CG Artist: Trine Soreneson

CG Modeller: Zach Pindolia

3D Printers: 3D Print Bureau

VFX Framestore

VFX Supervisor: Tim Osborne

VFX Producer: Sharma Lewis

Colourist: Steffan Perry

Audio House: Grayson Music

Music Director: Tyson Kuteyi

Music Supervisor: Kaya Pino

Exec Producer: Kelly McCluskey

Composer: Jeff Milutinovic

Sound Designer: Ben Swarbrick

Print/Digital/OOH Partners:

Illustrator: Naomi Otsu

Illustrator: Lindsay Wright

Production: L’Éloi

Photographers: Les Garçons

Food Stylist: Chantal Legault

Candy Digital: Digital Display