The advertisements on London Transport seem to be focus on promoting:

• services that promise to make the (little) money you have “work for you”
• products that promote better health through taking “health” pills, or tonics
• pay-to-use services to save you time/outsource your life tasks to gig-economy workers

This advertisement for deliveroo – who is talking here? The language in this ad is mis-communicating the work needed, and who is actually doing the work.

It reads like the conversation we’ve all had. Maybe between two people, a couple or housemates, who share intimate daily-life behaviours, shopping, making breakfast. You never want to be the person who has to do the shopping. It’s a chore.

We know how this discussion, and subsequent activities are supposed used to go:

Francis: Out of pasta? Grab milk while you’re at it. And toothpaste. And tomorrow’s breakfast. Some oregano. Eggs too. Bread.
Sam: What else?
Francis: Oh yeah, mouthwash.

…then Sam goes off to the shops, gets wet when it starts raining, then walks around the shop, and picks up the groceries.

But in reality, what is happening here?

Francis: Out of pasta? Grab milk while you’re at it.
(Sam, sitting on the couch, scrolls to find pasta, taps “add to basket”. Searches for milk, taps “add to basket”.)
Francis: And toothpaste. And tomorrow’s breakfast. Some oregano. Eggs too. Bread.
(Sam scrolls, searches and taps on these in the shopping app.)
Sam: What else?
Francis: Oh yeah, mouthwash.
(Sam adds this to the shopping basket. Sam taps check-out.)

Then, someone in the grocery shop needs to respond to the annoying, repetitive, auditory notification on one of multiple online shopping app devices.

Then, a delivery person needs to arrive, pick it up, and (more than likely) cycle to Sam and Francis’ house to deliver it, “in as little as 20 minutes”.

Who has done the work here? Who has done the grabbing here?