Dive Brief:

• DoorDash is capitalizing on demand for deliveries of romantic items like flowers, chocolates and unmentionables around Valentine’s Day with a national campaign riffing on the ménage à trois, per details shared with Marketing Dive. 
• A teaser sees a couple mull whether they should order a “threesome” via DoorDash since every restaurant is fully booked for Valentine’s Day. A 30-second hero spot released Monday reveals that the “third” in the relationship is actually a delivery of flowers, chocolates and whipped cream.
• Starting Wednesday (Feb. 12), DoorDash is offering limited-edition Valentine’s Day bundles in select cities. The bundles come in “sweet” and “spicy” variants, with the latter carrying a pair of items curated by Hustler Hollywood, DoorDash’s first partner in the intimate wellness category.  

Dive Insight:

DoorDash is further embracing a trend toward unhinged, openly racy marketing with its latest Valentine’s Day campaign, aptly titled “Threesome.” The effort aims to reach couples who are opting for a night in on Feb. 14, not only in terms of ordering food but also other goods, including chocolates, flowers and more intimate items, courtesy of adult toy and lingerie retailer Hustler Hollywood.

“Threesome,” which was developed between agency Gut Los Angeles and DoorDash’s internal Superette team, rolled out in multiple parts to build anticipation ahead of Valentine’s Day. National connected TV, digital, social media and influencer marketing support the media plan.

An initial 30-second teaser that dropped Feb. 7 sees a man, Mark, suggest to his romantic partner Cindy that they get a “threesome” from DoorDash for the holiday occasion. Cindy at first reacts with befuddlement, but Mark shows her the offerings available via the delivery platform, his phone screen facing away from the camera, which convinces Cindy it’s a good idea.

A follow-up ad from Feb. 10 sees a DoorDash delivery person hand over the goods and then experience a moment of discomfort as the couple excitedly reacts to their package (watch the age-restricted YouTube video here). The spot ends with Cindy asking Mark, “Should we take this upstairs?” before grabbing the whipped cream can. “Your door to spicing things up,” reads the closing copy.

The videos support DoorDash’s limited-time spicy and sweet bundles that are available via DashMart in the five cities the company identified as the most intimate in the U.S.: Salt Lake City, New York, Miami, San Francisco and Austin. Sweet bundles come with the conventional trio of roses, chocolates and a teddy bear while spicy bundles pair the flowers with two exclusive items from Hustler Hollywood. 

The campaign’s concept is rooted in insights from a survey DoorDash conducted that found 98% of women in relationships are interested in adding more heat to their Valentine’s Day, with nearly two-thirds (63%) of those polled desiring lingerie and more than half wanting toys or accessories. DoorDash and Gut Los Angeles have previously employed a risque marketing approach for Valentine’s Day: A push from 2023 around Self-Love Bouquets nodded to masturbation and included a floral-themed sex toy that had become popular on TikTok. 

“Threesome” is ramping up on the tails of DoorDash’s Super Bowl LIX spot, which starred stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze as he lavishly overspends, mistakenly believing the benefits of the DashPass membership program safeguard him from larger financial ruin. The commercial landed near the bottom of USA Today’s closely watched Ad Meter with a 2.5 out of 5 rating, a turn of fortunes following a DoorDash big game campaign last year that scored major points for innovation.

DoorDash handily topped Wall Street’s expectations on revenue in Q4, according to an earnings report released Tuesday, bolstered by strong demand around the holidays and more consumers being comfortable ordering goods like groceries via delivery.