Last night's "eat local" Uber Eats Super Bowl commercial hit on something I've been thinking about a lot lately - "local washing."

I see that Geico billboard near my home often. "We're local Boise" it says. Except, of course, Geico isn't local. The company's based in Maryland and is the second-largest insurance provider in the nation. Charitably, they are probably trying to convey they have a local office...

Of course, that's not what the billboard says. But being LOCAL is all the rage - and marketers love to follow trends that test well. Organic, free-range, green... local.

So national marketers - corporations - follow this, and find ways to tie themselves to the well-testing phrase. But Uber Eats isn't local. I talk to lots of restaurant owners, and many tell me they feel like they have to be on Door Dash or Uber Eats to be where customers are.

Now, unlike Geico, Uber Eats didn't say they were local. But they want you to associate them with your local diner or cafe or pub. But when I opened the UE app, the first non-sponsored results were for... Starbucks, McDonald's and Denny's.

Starbucks, McDonald's, Denny's are fine - they employ local people, and in some cases are franchises that are owned by local people. But it's not the same as an *actual* local restaurant.

And for all those local restaurants - the ones that employ local people and keep the profits here in Boise and Idaho - that DO appear on Uber Eats or Door Dash - they often have to pay a hefty cut to the national platforms just to show up.

I can't denigrate non-local businesses. I'm typing this on a MacBook at a Haworth desk wearing a pair of Nikes. But finding locally made computers, desks & shoes is a bit though. But like many, I choose to buy local when I can.

(Extends to news, too - my bias here of course. Our 'local' billboards feature truth in advertising.)

But I'm leary of companies that pretend to be local while sending the profits to bank accounts far away - where the money does much less good for the community.