Uber Eats recently released a commercial for the Super Bowl, which featured Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, among other A-listers. The advertisement was cherished for several star-studded cameos. However, one segment of the commercial, which featured a joke about peanut allergy, sparked outrage. Following severe backlash, the company has announced its decision to delete the controversial allergy scene.
Uber Eats' peanut allergy joke sparks outrage
The commercial revolved around the theme of forgetfulness to set the stage for Uber Eats' tagline that reads, “Whatever you forget, remember, Uber Eats gets anything.” In one of the scenes, a man suffering from hives and sores due to a peanut allergy is seen eating a spoonful of peanut butter. The man is depicted to have forgotten his allergy as he says while holding a jar of peanut butter in his hands, “There’s peanuts in peanut butter? Oh, it’s the primary ingredient.”
Shortly after the advertisement, which also featured cameos from Victoria and David Beckham, was released, netizens called out Uber Eats. Food Allergy Research & Education said in a statement, “We’re incredibly disappointed by @UberEats’ 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. Enough is enough.”
{{/usCountry}}Shortly after the advertisement, which also featured cameos from Victoria and David Beckham, was released, netizens called out Uber Eats. Food Allergy Research & Education said in a statement, “We’re incredibly disappointed by @UberEats’ 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. Enough is enough.”
{{/usCountry}}In a follow-up statement on Friday, Dr. Sung Poblete, the CEO of FARE, said that Uber Eats had agreed to edit out the peanut allergy scene from the Super Bowl commercial. “This is an amazing outcome. FARE would like to thank Uber for listening to our community and making the changes to their Super Bowl ad. After talking with them today, I believe we have a new ally in helping us navigate our journey with our disease,” Poblete said, per Today.