DoorDash and Marvel have teamed up to celebrate everyday heroes – Dashers! DoorDash and Marvel partnered to launch a new custom comic book, The Dashers, which celebrates the work and lives of those who deliver with DoorDash. The custom comic book depicts how, through independence, ingenuity, flexibility, and a few super twists, four Dashers are able to save the city of Dashville all while pursuing their life goals, chasing their passions, and delivering for their communities.
The Comic Book
The Dashers is a 26 page custom comic book that features four super hero characters who each value dashing for a different reason – just like their real life counterparts.
The idea of highlighting the diversity of Dashers centered the story and drove character development and initial plot ideas. The main characters are based on different types of people you can find within the Dasher community.
Ernesto values being able to explore the city and have unique experiences in his neighborhood.
Julia appreciates being able to earn flexibly while taking care of her family.
Remi is an aspiring chef who dashes to support her passion.
Andrew is a young tech-savvy college student who dashes to help buy books and support his education.
They each utilize their own Dasher super power – from the ability to be in multiple places at once, or “omnireplication,” to hyper-flexibility, or “supernatural elasticity,” and more – to navigate the city and dash. The Dashers come together to save the city of Dashville from a mysterious force draining the citizens of the city of their energy and preventing them from realizing their dreams.
The comic will also be released as a motion comic split into five chapters. The chapters will be released on Marvel Entertainment’s YouTube channel beginning Wednesday, October 12.
The Campaign
During the pandemic, we saw communities rally around Dashers, recognizing and thanking them for their efforts to reconnect them with their communities at a time when most people were staying inside. As the world has shifted back to pre-pandemic norms, it was important to find an engaging, authentic way to extend this narrative of gratitude and support, and continue to celebrate these local heroes. So, DoorDash partnered with Marvel, the authority on superheroes, to create a physical comic book – something that the DoorDash team had never done before. The comic book is the center of a multichannel, 360 degree brand initiative that amplifies the everyday heroics of Dashers and celebrates their role in our communities. Over the coming weeks, DoorDash will launch the “Activate Super You” campaign to engage existing Dashers and bring new Dashers to the platform. The campaign will leverage custom content across social media platforms including a superhero themed Snapchat Lens, digital out of home advertising, a TikTok creator campaign featuring comic and Marvel creators, a Dasher creator campaign, and cinema video pre-roll in movie theaters.
Centering Dashers in the comic storyline as community heroes led to the creation of the “Activate Super You” campaign. The comic brought to the forefront the importance of flexibility and brought to life the reasons why many people choose to dash. Dashing allows Dashers to be the best version of themselves with the flexibility and earning opportunities supporting their goals. Many Dashers activate the best version of themselves by reaching those goals.
Creating a comic book was an unexpected way for DoorDash to both show appreciation for Dashers and tap into a creative way to reach new audiences.
New York Comic Con
For the first time, DoorDash took New York Comic Con by storm, debuting The Dashers alongside an experiential activation that brought the city of Dashville to life. Fans were put to the test to identify their super skills and to see if they have what it takes to dash and save the city from evil.
The activation was inspired by a desire to bring the comic to life in an interactive and physical way for comic loving DoorDash fans, Dashers, and Comic Con attendees. The activation made the entire campaign tangible and was an impactful way to bring customers into The Dashers universe.
DoorDash and Marvel also hosted a stage event in the Marvel booth, where host Langston Belton led a trivia session focused on the dynamic lives of Marvel’s heroes when they’re not saving their cities.
Through the course of this campaign fans of DoorDash and heroes alike will be able to interact with The Dashers as the motion comic is released in chapters every week on Wednesdays beginning October 12.
The comic is available to read on Marvel’s social media channels and Marvel.com.
