A Super Bowl LVIII commercial ad is problematic before the game even starts. Uber Eats' game ad says, "Whatever you forget, remember Uber Eats gets anything."
Several characters are forgetful. Jennifer Aniston forgets her "Friends" co-star David Schwimmer during a reunion, and David and Victoria Beckham struggle to recall the Spice Girls' name: "Remember when you used to be a Pepper Lady?"
Uber Eats was criticized for showing a peanut-allergic person consuming peanut butter from a jar. Person in clip says, "Peanut butter has peanuts? "Oh, it's the main ingredient" with facial swelling and hives.
Note that severe peanut allergies can be lethal. The nonprofit Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) and others online thought this "joke" was disrespectful.
The organization warned Uber Eats on X, writing, "The suffering of 33M+ Americans with this condition is no joke."
The food allergy community worried about broadcasting this hazardous ad to 200 million Super Bowl LVIII viewers, the same number as in 2023.
A X user said, "When you joke about allergies you teach the public it's ok to not take them seriously, and that can have deadly consequences."
In a February 9 video on X, FARE CEO Dr. Sung Poblete informed Uber Eats of their decision to remove the peanut allergy material from the ad.
In the video, Poblete said, "Thank you Uber for hearing our perspective and becoming a FARE ally." The original ad is still on YouTube.Uber Eats may have learned to be sensitive to life-threatening circumstances to avoid poor PR.