Uber’s new campaign in Germany marks the company’s first work with Serviceplan. The series of films, supported by digital and social, each tells its own story of times when Uber makes life easier. Uber City Trips is the fifth in our Storytelling Masters series.
The activation launches Uber’s new tagline: oder aber Uber. The line plays on a German phrase that expresses an alternative idea. Nick Ball directed the campaign, and famous German actor Axel Milberg narrates the voiceover in a dry, deadpan, nature-documentary style.
The campaign reveals the many maddening trips we make in life that we could avoid if we are willing to adapt, change our plans, and break old habits. Crucially, each film ends with the same simple suggestion: Oder aber Uber? (Or order Uber?).
Why do people keep sticking to inconvenient routines for everyday journeys when simpler alternatives are already available? That question sits at the center of this campaign, which also marks the beginning of the brands’ partnership following a major agency pitch process completed in summer 2025.
Serviceplan developed four short films for the campaign that exemplify some of these journeys. Spots nod to various German cultural references throughout, including the following key spots.
Zwiebellook: A man stands waiting endlessly for a bus as the weather changes, repeatedly adding and removing layers of clothing (“onion look”).
Shopping: A young couple turns a quick trip for curtains into a heavy, exhausting, walking-laden trek.
Club pickup: A father picks up his child late at night in inconvenient circumstances.
The result is a series of warm, humorous observations of everyday German life.
Running nationwide across TV, digital out-of-home (DOOH), social media, and online platforms.
Storytelling Masters: Uber City Trips, Tor Kjolberg reporting.
Brand Masters of Storytelling: Nike
Brand Masters of Storytelling 2: Guinness
Brand Masters of Storytelling 3: Barclayscard
Brand Masters of Storytelling 4: Patagonia