DoorDash's Sesame Street Super Bowl Commercial Is Turning Heads
DoorDash has taken the early lead in Super Bowl LV — not in the game itself, of course, but in the competition for best Super Bowl commercial. DoorDash's ad hit roughly 100 million TVs and streaming devices in the game's first quarter, and Twitter users are lavishing the Sesame Street-themed spot with praise.
DoorDash's commercial shows Daveed Diggs of Hamilton fame taking a tour of the neighborhood with Big Bird, to find all the yummy treats you can order through the app-based delivery service. Order from your corner bodega, deli, or smoothie shop — or, if you're Cookie Monster, make it "the famous cookie shop in the magazines." (Sesame Street is a fictional neighborhood in New York, so we can easily imagine it with a famous cookie shop.) Super Grover even makes an appearance to grab that smoothie and then he drops in — literally — at the end, smoothie still intact.
Twitter user Shelly Maes declared DoorDash the commercial winner at this early stage in the game: "Already know the best Super Bowl commercial ... Daveed Diggs and Super Grover!!"
Some viewers thought Sesame Street shouldn't have gone commercial
Other Super Bowl watchers took to Twitter to praise DoorDash's commercial, featuring the cast of Sesame Street and Daveed Diggs of Hamilton. Florida marketing firm Gustie Creative tweeted, "Thank you @DoorDash for a creative commercial with a heartfelt message. Our neighborhood's rock!" Another expert in the field, digital marketing strategist Zaryn Sidhu, also heaped praise on the DoorDash ad via Twitter: "DoorDash x Sesame Street was a great partnership move for @DoorDash. Great ad execution too." There was one more Twitter rave, from Axton Sterling: "Any ad that involves Sesame Street and Big Bird is a blast from the past and catches all-age audiences."
Opinions of DoorDash's Super Bowl commercial were not unanimous. A Twitter user who goes by Dogelas J. Dogenburg claimed to be a DoorDash driver, and they felt snubbed. "Ohh I see, @DoorDash paid me s*** this year cuz they spent all their money on this [...] a** commercial," Dogenburg tweeted.
Other Twitter users felt uncomfortable seeing iconic public television characters from their childhood shilling for a decidedly for-profit tech firm. "Oh no! The Sesame Street Muppets hustling for Doordash. My childhood is crying," @damnitgirlie tweeted. Finally, a couple ofTwitter users simply wondered why Oscar didn't make a cameo at least. Maybe garbage cans and food delivery don't go well together.
We'll see if DoorDash's early Super Bowl commercial lead holds up. Amy Schumer and Hellmann's are sure to give it a run for its money.