Grubhub Warns ‘Beware of Gold Diggers’ in Creative Overhaul of ‘Gold Days’ Promotion

Grubhub+ launched in 2020, offering dedicated customers $0 delivery fees and other benefits for a monthly subscription. But according to the food delivery company’s VP of loyalty, partnerships and marketing, Launika Raykar, up until this point, the programme has been communicated “in a very functional way”.

With Grubhub’s annual promotional event, ‘Gold Days’ just around the corner – offering over 10,000 deals to Grubhub+ users during the month of May, and discounted membership for a limited time – this is all set to change. Grubhub has partnered with creative agency Anomaly LA, the team behind the brand’s Yorgos Lanthimos-directed Super Bowl spot starring George Clooney, to launch a new creative platform that finally connects Grubhub+ to customers on a more emotional level.

Directed by Zach Tavel via Blinkink, the campaign’s hero film ‘Gold Digging Season’ is the first major step in bringing that to life.

The work taps into feelings of envy, following protagonist and Grubhub+ member ‘Gary’ as his VIP deals attract attention from a series of crazed neighbours. The creative frames these desperate outsiders as ‘gold diggers’, all trying to get in on Gary’s ‘Gold Days’ benefits.

“We needed to make ‘Gold Days’ bigger and better than ever,” Launika tells LBB. “This year, that meant not only rewarding existing members, but also reaching new diners who haven’t experienced Grubhub+ yet. We needed creative that could work across a full-funnel plan while still being entertaining enough to break through.

“Ultimately, loyalty comes down to consistency: delivering real value on every order, creating moments that surprise and reward, and pairing that with creative that makes people feel proud to be members – not just satisfied.”

Early on with Anomaly, the teams agreed that leading the campaign with the scale of the deals or the sign-up offer wouldn’t differentiate them in the crowded category. Instead, they pushed for an emotional hook, landing on: ‘it feels good to have something other people want’.

“That insight unlocked a creative territory that felt ownable, culturally relevant and fun for Grubhub,” she says. “The creative is designed to create a feeling of FOMO. When Gary’s entire neighborhood shows up, the takeaway is clear - he has something you don’t.

“I love Gary,” adds Launika. “He’s the heart of the story, but he’s not a celebrity, he’s just an every day Grubhub+ member who ordered takeout and suddenly becomes the most popular person on his block. It’s incredibly relatable.”

What stands out most to Launika is that she feels it doesn’t feel like a traditional delivery ad. “You’re entertained first, you’re laughing, and then the message lands: these deals are so good that everyone wants in and they’re worth protecting.”

The film lands on a simple call to action: join Grubhub+ for 99 cents a month for six months – a message that is consistent across the campaign’s full-funnel approach, running creative across TV, digital video, audio and social. “We recognised that owned and earned channels alone wouldn’t be enough to hit our growth ambitions,” says Launica. “This was the moment to invest in a full-funnel campaign and reach new audiences across TV, social and beyond. That’s what drove the decision to launch our first fully integrated creative campaign around ‘Gold Days’.”

It’s a direct approach that comes at a time when consumers are more intentional with spending than ever, and value is top of mind. “That extends to loyalty programmes,” Launika explains, “people want to feel like their membership is delivering something tangible, not just points toward a future reward.”

This has prompted Grubhub to evolve its membership and ‘Gold Days’ promotion over the years, now stretching it to a full four weeks and over $5 million in savings. That extended duration in and of itself is a “key differentiator” for the brand, says Launica. “Many competitors compress their savings into short windows, but ‘Gold Days’ is designed as a sustained experience. Weekly deal drops give members a reason to come back again and again, while giving us fresh ways to show up across channels throughout the month.

“Importantly,” she adds, “Gold Days reflects all the ways our members eat today, not just restaurant delivery, but also pickup, meal kits through Blue Apron, and grocery powered by Instacart. It’s a more holistic view of value,” she adds. “Beyond the event, Grubhub+ continues to deliver year-round benefits… ‘Gold Days’ is the entry point, but the goal is for that value to become part of everyday behaviour.”

Launika concludes that she and the brand are particularly excited about the creative platform and the world it opens up. “It gives us a way to talk about value in a more emotional, culturally relevant way,” she says. “That said, our ambition for Grubhub+ goes far beyond May. We’re focused on consistently delivering value our members can rely on, and ‘Gold Days’ is just the beginning of that story for 2026.”