There was a time when the return to school was marked by purchases of fresh notebooks and newly sharpened pencils, a ritual as American as the three-ring binder itself. Now it appears the stationery has been joined, if not supplanted, by something rather more metaphysical.
Uber, the ride-hailing company that has become as ubiquitous on college campuses as the Red Solo cup once was, is introducing a back-to-school campaign built around the concept of manifestation — the belief, popular among younger consumers, that stating one's desires aloud can help bring them into being. The campaign, called "Manifest Your Best Year Ever," features two commercials directed by Adam & Dave of the production company Arts & Sciences.
The work comes from Mother New York, the American outpost of the London-born creative agency that has handled Uber's advertising since 2022. (Whether manifesting a successful campaign counts as strategy or superstition was not immediately clear.)
The effort is aimed squarely at Generation Z, a cohort that has demonstrated a notable appetite for practices that might once have been confined to the self-help aisle or the more esoteric corners of social media. Uber, which began life ferrying urban professionals to airports and has since expanded into food delivery, freight logistics, and just about everything else, apparently sees value in positioning itself as a facilitator of youthful aspiration — a corporate genie of sorts, though one that still charges surge pricing.
The campaign arrives as brands across categories continue their attempts to speak the language of teenagers, a dialect that shifts with unnerving speed. Whether manifestation will prove as durable a cultural touchstone as, say, the vision board remains to be seen.
For now, at least, Uber is putting its hopes out into the universe.
Original story published in adweek.com: "Uber's Back-to-School Campaign Wants to Turn Gen Z Manifestations Into Reality"