Jelly Roll, Usher, Jennifer Aniston And More Appear In Controversial Uber Eats Super Bowl Commercial

“In order to remember something, you gotta forget something else.”

By

Melanie Rooten

Originally from Southern California and currently residing in Music City, Melanie graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Journalism before beginning her career as a music and entertainment journalist. Beginning to write for Music Mayhem in August of 2023, she has also contributed to Holler, Country Now, Country Chord, Celeb Secrets, Celeb Secrets Country, We Got This Covered and Decider throughout her career thus far. When she is not writing, Melanie enjoys going to concerts and music festivals, binging her favorite television shows, spending time with her friends and family and cheering on the Oklahoma Sooners (of course).

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Posted on February 11, 2024

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Jelly Roll, Usher, Jennifer Aniston; Photo Courtesy of Uber Eats Super Bowl Commercial

To the delight of football fans, we are just hours away from Super Bowl LVIII, however, with a star-studded lineup of performers and commercials that will cause viewers to crack a smile, pop culture lovers are in for a treat as well. One of the most controversial advertisements of this year comes from Uber Eats, a company that included familiar faces like Jelly Roll, Usher, Jennifer Aniston, and more in their Uber Eats commercial, with the head of North American marketing for Uber Eats, Georgie Jeffreys, expressing his excitement in an exclusive interview with Billboard.

“We’re thrilled to be back at the Super Bowl for the fourth year in a row… We’ve started to share a few of the stars in our spot, but I think we may be forgetting a few,” he shared, seemingly teasing the overall theme of the advertisement.

Uber Eats Super Bowl Commercial

To open up the minute-long advertisement, an individual — seemingly an assistant on set — gives Friends star Jennifer Aniston a bag full of groceries, delivered via Uber Eats. While the assistant admits that they need to keep Uber Eats in mind for any of their on-the-go groceries, Aniston responds, “You know what they say, in order to remember something, you gotta forget something else,” ultimately setting the scene for the remainder of the commercial.

As the advertisement progresses, some of the biggest stars of 2024 are seen with Uber Eats bags, all while seemingly forgetting a big aspect of their identities.

For example, Jennifer Aniston is approached by Friends co-star David Schwimmer and does not recognize him, Jelly Roll looks in the mirror and is stunned by his signature face tattoos, David and Victoria Beckham are trying to remember the name of the Spice Girls — the girl group that the latter was a part of in the 1990s — and more.

“I hope I get to play a halftime show someday man,” Usher says to close out the commercial in a hilarious way, seemingly forgetting that he is putting on the halftime performance at Super Bowl LVIII.

Advertisement Sparked Outrage With Peanut Allergy Joke

The Uber Eats commercial sparked outrage upon its release and is under fire for making a peanut allergy joke. In the minute-long clip, a man is seen breaking out in hives with one of his eyes swollen shut due to an allergic reaction to peanut butter as he jokingly questions, “There’s peanuts in peanut butter?”

While this scene is displayed, there is a small disclaimer seen at the bottom of the screen that reads, “Please please please don’t forget there are peanuts in peanut butter.”

Peanut Allergy Uber Eats; Photo Courtesy of Uber Eats Super Bowl Commercial
Peanut Allergy Uber Eats; Photo Courtesy of Uber Eats Super Bowl Commercial

Once the game day ad spot hit social media, controversy ensued as viewers were angry that Uber Eats chose to mock a serious medical condition that could result in a life-threatening condition.

“You were SO close to having a great commercial. Why did you put in the peanut allergy part? It’s unnecessary to the plot, and you are mocking a life-threatening medical condition to the largest television audience of the year. You are green-lighting food allergy bullying. It’s irresponsible and dangerous. Would you do this with another life-threatening disease? Your creative team could have done so much better. 33 million Americans have food allergies, and because of this, you’ll have that many fewer customers. Pick something more creative…maybe have Serena Williams show up to the US Open, forgetting her tennis racket. By the way, she’s allergic to peanuts,” one user wrote.

Another added, “Food allergies are not funny. Food allergy families work hard every day to keep their families safe, especially from insensitive and unaware people. Being a food delivery company, I cannot understand how anyone in your company thought this would be appropriate, let alone funny. It’s a shame because the rest of it was a good ad.”

Food Allergy Research Company Responds, Condemning Commercial

The clip also got attention from FARE, a non-profit Food Allergy research company that is dedicated to food allergy awareness, research and education.

“We are incredibly disappointed by Uber Eats use of life-threatening food allergies as humor in its Super Bowl ad. The suffering of 33M+ Americans with this condition is no joke. Life-threatening food allergy is a disease, not a diet. Tell @ubereats and @nfl that enough is enough. 📣 Awareness is key to driving change! Click the link in our bio to read more.”

Peanut Allergy Edited Out For Television Commercial

Concerns prompted Uber Eats to edit their advertisement for TV, according to FARE. So when the advertisement airs during Super Bowl LVIII, the clip will not reference the peanut allergy segment of the clip.

Super Bowl LVIII

The 48th annual Super Bowl will see the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs go head-to-head at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada tomorrow (February 11) at 6:30/5:30pm CT, broadcasting via CBS and streaming via Paramount Plus.

While the game is going to be nothing short of spectacular, Super Bowl LVIII has a star-studded lineup of performers as well, with Reba McEntire singing the National Anthem, Post Malone and Andra Day putting on phenomenal pre-game performances — singing “America the Beautiful” and “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” respectively — Usher taking on an unprecedented 15-minute halftime performance, and beyond.

Set your DVRs, because Super Bowl LVIII might be the best one yet.

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Written by

Originally from Southern California and currently residing in Music City, Melanie graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Journalism before beginning her career as a music and entertainment journalist. Beginning to write for Music Mayhem in August of 2023, she has also contributed to Holler, Country Now, Country Chord, Celeb Secrets, Celeb Secrets Country, We Got This Covered and Decider throughout her career thus far. When she is not writing, Melanie enjoys going to concerts and music festivals, binging her favorite television shows, spending time with her friends and family and cheering on the Oklahoma Sooners (of course).

See more posts from Melanie Rooten

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