• Instacart on Sunday is set to air its first Super Bowl ad, featuring nostalgic brand mascots.
• In an interview, Instacart CMO Laura Jones shared the risks involved in creating the campaign.
• Instacart is betting its investment will boost the brand along with sales and ad revenue.

Instacart's chief marketing officer, Laura Jones, acknowledges she's been a little stressed recently.

Jones and her team are preparing to air Instacart's first Super Bowl ad, and the stakes are high.

Any brand looking to stand out this weekend during TV advertising's tentpole event has a lot on the line. Some brands paid the broadcaster Fox upward of $8 million to secure 30 seconds of airtime this year. That doesn't even include the costs of producing the ad and the extra media buys on social media and elsewhere.

"There have been so many mornings over the past six months where I've just been scared we're taking this huge risk," Jones told BI. "There are points in the creative process when you are kind of operating on faith, and it's scary."

Instacart's ad, which is set to air during the second quarter of the game, draws on nostalgia, bringing back memorable brand mascots from previous Super Bowls. Characters like the Heinz wiener dogs, the Green Giant, the Old Spice Guy, and the Kool-Aid Man join forces to deliver a family's grocery order.

Jones said the ad sought to convey the idea that Instacart takes care of the groceries so its users can take care of their lives.

When Jones took the early Super Bowl ad idea to Instacart CEO Fidji Simo, she said, she was asked by Simo, "How do we know this is going to work?"

Jones did have a data point to back up the strategy: The company's "Bunny Ears" back-to-school campaign during the Paris Olympics had driven "material" sales growth. Still, the Super Bowl would be a much bigger investment.

The four members of the Instacart marketing team behind the Super Bowl push had a make-or-break meeting about whether to go ahead.

"We were like, OK, we're choosing to do this," Jones said. "We're about to take on a ton of work. We're about to take on a huge risk. If we don't do this well, it could cost me or all of us our careers, but do we want to take this risk?"

"We did because we felt like we put in the hard work, we were ready, and we felt confident in our ability to execute," Jones added.

System1, a company that rates TV ads on their potential to drive long-term growth for brands, rated Instacart's ad at 4.1 stars out of a possible 5.9. That's a good score that placed it ninth out of the Super Bowl LIX ads that System1 has analyzed so far. The top-scoring ad, with a perfect score of 5.9 stars, was "The Little Farmer" from Lay's, which tells a story about a girl growing her own potatoes. System1 asks a panel of consumers to indicate how they feel about the ad they're viewing from a list of emotions ranging from contempt and disgust to happiness and surprise.

Vanessa Chin, System1's senior vice president of marketing, said the Instacart ad intensified its emotional connection with viewers by using familiar characters and music.

"Using 'Take It to da House' as the soundtrack was particularly effective, tying into Instacart's delivery business while enhancing the emotional impact with its upbeat tune, often played by marching bands," Chin said.

Instacart faced added complexity by partnering with brands that were also its advertisers

The concept of Instacart's "We're Here" Super Bowl ad itself had added challenges. Instacart had to carefully manage the intellectual property and brand guidelines of all the partners involved — which also happen to be advertisers on its platform. The company worked with the ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day LA to produce the ad.

Instacart has also been mindful of those relationships as it extended the campaign beyond the TV spot. In the lead-up to the game, it brought some of the mascots to shows, including "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and the "Today" show. It partnered with Kraft Heinz to have the Wienermobile, driven by the Cheetos mascot, Chester Cheetah, make deliveries in this year's Super Bowl host city, New Orleans, as well as Kansas City and Philadelphia, the hometowns of this year's teams.

"You get this huge benefit of added reach through social, through news coverage," Jones said.

Jones said Instacart would test whether it achieved demonstrable benefits in areas such as unaided awareness and consideration, and whether the campaign produced a measurable lift in gross transaction volume. Instacart will also look at whether the Super Bowl push helps generate revenue for its own advertising business. It's working with its partners to push promotions in the app, such as letting users add a free bag of Cheetos to their orders during game week.

Like many other Super Bowl LIX advertisers, Instacart decided to keep its campaign lighthearted this year.

Jones said the marketing team had considered making a heartstring-puller but felt it would be difficult to stand out. She recalled The Farmer's Dog's "Forever" commercial from the 2023 Super Bowl, which was widely lauded, while other tearjerkers that year weren't as memorable.

Jones said humor served as a great connector, which she hopes will drive affinity for the brand as millions of people tune in Sunday to watch the Chiefs take on the Eagles.

"Humor is something that really plays better in a group," Jones said. "It's more fun to laugh when you're in a group of people than when you're alone in your bed streaming at 11 o'clock at night."

• The NAACP is speaking out about the Trump administration's DEI rollbacks, promoting its new VC fund, and gearing up for the launch of a new TV show.
• Aba Blankson leads NAACP's marketing and storytelling, including its recently launched #KeepAdvancing campaign.
• This article is part of a series of interviews with chief marketing officers for CMO Insider.

A few days into President Donald Trump's second term, the NAACP denounced the president's executive order to dismantle federal government diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

"This executive order threatens public services that benefit all Americans," the NAACP president and CEO, Derrick Johnson, said in a statement. "It's an attempt to consolidate power and money to a few wealthy individuals. And poor and working-class people will pay the price."

It's a critical time for the NAACP, and Aba Blankson, its chief marketing and communications officer. There's no shortage of issues, but Blankson has the chops to handle them: She's been the NAACP's top marketer since 2017, following roles at Common Application and USAID. Key programs during her tenure include social advocacy campaigns, and the #CovidUnmasked series that exposed the impact of the pandemic on Black communities across health, employment, and housing.

Like many CMOs, she's working out the applications of artificial intelligence, conducting stakeholder research, and advising the rest of the C-suite on where the brand needs to show up. In 2024, Washington Women in Public Relations named her "Woman of the Year."

"Aba is a luminary," said Rebecca Lowell Edwards, the former chief communications and marketing officer at the ACLU who is now at Organon, in an email. "When I was at the ACLU, I would often watch with admiration what she was doing to engage the NAACP community and captivate a competitive landscape to gain attention for weighty topics."

Edwards said Blankson's role demands a complex amalgam of skills and passion."You are operating on multiple speeds, across different complex subjects matters with deep personal resonance," she said. "It's important to know the mechanics of organizing, marketing, brand-building, and every other essential organizational discipline while keeping your heart and soul intact and out in front."

Blankson said NAACP has had to keep evolving the way it inspires action and awareness. One way is by driving investment into minority-owned startups through its first VC fund of funds, which launched last year.

Now at the beginning of Black History Month, the NAACP gears up for something completely different: the launch of a new daytime drama titled "Beyond the Gates," which it has co-produced.

Bringing a fresh story to the small screen

"Beyond the Gates," a new daytime drama premiering on February 24 on CBS, is an outcome of the NAACP's efforts to foster more diverse storytelling. Produced by CBS Studios and the NAACP, in partnership with P&G Studios, a division of Procter & Gamble, it's the first new daytime drama launched by a major TV network since 1999.

The series focuses on an affluent Black family, the Duprees, living in a Maryland suburb. The show is a direct outcome of a development deal between CBS Studios and NAACP that began in 2020.

It's taken nearly five years to bring the project to life. That's showbiz, said Blankson. "If you know anything about the television landscape, it takes a long time for projects to make their way through their pipeline," she added.

Procter & Gamble was the pioneer of the so-called soap opera genre, and is coproducing. Kimberly Doebereiner, the head of P&G Studios says the company is proud to be part of the new show.

"We are thrilled to continue P&G's legacy as a pioneer in the genre," Doebereiner said in an email to BI. "We value finding interesting ways for our brands to connect with people around relevant and resonant stories. We hope people will fall in love watching the Duprees!"

A campaign that invokes 2020 community support

In October, the NAACP launched an advertising campaign called #KeepAdvancing. It aims to reignite the momentum of 2020 when the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd sparked global calls for social justice.

At that time, allies posted black squares on their social media accounts to show solidarity with Black justice causes. The gesture was generally perceived as performative and was subject to criticism and ridicule.

Though individuals also donated a lot of money to organizations like NAACP at the time, Blankson confirmed that only one in three of those donors returned to give to NAACP again.

The #KeepAdvancing campaign, which includes national advertising, is intended to remind allies of their past support and encourage them to take direct action and make donations to the organization. The TV commercial depicts a woman posting a black square and expressing concern for the racial justice issues, only to drift away as life events overtake her.

"In some ways, it's hard to believe that it's been five years," Blankson said. "But in other ways, it's amazing that we haven't progressed as much as I think our spirit wanted us to as a country. Part of this campaign is really to challenge the country — to challenge all those who were engaged in 2020 to say, 'Hey, the work is not done, we need you now more than ever.'"

Blankson said the campaign launch ahead of the election was intentional, as the issues persist regardless of the party in power.

"Elections are not necessarily about presidential candidates per se, but about the mood of the country, where the country is going," Blankson said. "No matter what happened, we knew that we needed to get people engaged."

The changing state of corporate DEI

Blankson declined to give specific details of any campaign the NAACP will undertake to persuade companies to retain DEI. She said she has met with many companies over the past year and heard firsthand the trepidation of leaders wary of backlash.

"There's a level of fear, 'We're going to be attacked if we don't dismantle our DEI programs,'" she said.

It's a big shift from 2020 when companies sought the NAACP's advice on speaking publicly about their DEI initiatives. "I personally reviewed a lot of statements in 2020," Blankson said. "I would always say to companies that if it's authentic to your company and your company's culture, then it is right. If it's not, then it's not. If you can maintain it in the difficult times, then it's right."

Blankson said the purchasing power of Black consumers will exert influence on these decisions. Though estimates vary, McKinsey & Company predicts Black purchasing power will grow to $1.7 trillion by 2030. "Companies cutting DEI practices — effectively turning their backs on a significant portion of their customer base — will eventually come to recognize this reality as well," Blankson said.

Nixing DEI initiatives can complicate things for brand marketing. Case in point, Walmart rolled back some of its DEI initiatives in November; the following month, the company faced backlash on social media for running a Christmas ad with Nia Long and Larenz Tate, reprising their characters from the 1997 film "Love Jones."

"You cannot use the culture to sell your products and then not invest in the culture and dismantle your DEI," Blankson said.

The CMO evolution

Blankson, who has been the chief marketing officer at the NAACP for nearly eight years, said she has seen a notable change in the role since 2020 — at her organization and elsewhere.

"The relationship with the CEO has never been closer," she said. "The need for the CMO is to, in some ways, reflect truth — to make sure that the organization is being truthful to its own mission and its own values."

Additionally, she said CMOs must help their organizations make judgment calls about when to jump into a cultural or political issue and when to stay quiet.

"There was a time where no matter what was happening in the world, every brand felt like they needed to take a position," Blankson said. "Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes that's not a good thing. It's important that the CMO is able to give counsel to others at the leadership table."

Then there's the hot-button topic on many marketers' minds: artificial intelligence. Blankson, like many CMOs, is figuring out what AI use cases will help the organization and what rules are needed to protect its IP and data.

"As we were developing our own set of commercials, there came a point where we said, 'This part of the video isn't quite right. Can we use AI to fix this?' But then if you do that, what is the disclosure?" Blankson said. "It's a whole new landscape, and I know that my CMO colleagues are grappling with it."

As the NAACP approaches its 116th anniversary this month, Blankson said the organization's secret to enduring relevance is adapting to change.

One example is the launch of NAACP Capital, a fund that's raising $200 million to invest in fund managers committed to closing investment gaps for people of color. "We know that African-Americans in particular get less of the capital funds that are available, and our entrepreneurs have great ideas that they want to bring to market," Blankson said. "So we have started a VC fund to try to close that gap."

The NAACP's historical legacy looms large, but Blankson is focused on storytelling that emphasizes its enduring relevance. "The secret of being a long-standing legacy brand is that you have a way of changing, innovating, morphing, and being of the time," Blankson said. "There has to be a constant retelling of the story and reframing of the narrative."

• Humor, nostalgia, and celebrities are set to feature heavily in this year's Super Bowl commercials.
• Brands are aiming for safe, lighthearted ads amid political tensions and economic challenges.
• Data shows Super Bowl advertisers have leaned heavily on celebrities since 2020.

Super Bowl advertisers are leaning into humor, nostalgia, and generous use of celebrities this year as brands look to provide levity — and avoid controversy — in a politically charged year.

Some advertisers have spent more than $8 million to secure 30 seconds of airtime, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider. They asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive sales negotiations; their identity is known to BI. Marketers will have spent many millions more on production, securing A-list celebrity endorsements, and buying online ads. More than 123 million viewers tuned in to last year's Super Bowl, according to TV measurement firm Nielsen.

Amid these high stakes, advertising insiders said brands have been more likely to play it safe in recent years, wary of a backlash and as they look to guarantee a return on their investment. The ads and teasers released so far for Super Bowl LIX appear to follow that trend.

"Since COVID, Super Bowl ads have taken a pretty decisive turn from being fairly edgy, fairly risque, to ones that are much, much more conscious of the national mood, of sentiment, politics — they sort of became very PC, really shying away from anything that could offend anybody," said Sean Muller, CEO of the ad measurement company iSpot.tv.

Marketers are highly attuned to the recent rollbacks of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across both corporate America and the federal government.

Bud Light famously became embroiled in a wave of conservative backlash after it featured transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in a 2023 social media promotion. Bud Light's Super Bowl spot this year follows a much more familiar beer-marketing playbook. Its "Big Men on Cul-de-sac" ad features comedian Shane Gillis, rapper Post Malone, and twice Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning hosting a raucous backyard party.

"Advertisers are really smart to stay away from politically charged themes at all times, but to the extent that they get into something like that, they really shouldn't be doing it when economic times are tough, or there's something negative in the national mood," said Charles Taylor, Villanova School of Business marketing professor and author of the coming book "Winning the Advertising Game: Lessons from the Super Bowl Ad Champions."

Super Bowl advertisers are playing for laughs this year

Comedy is the resounding theme of this year's crop of Super Bowl commercials. According to Daivid, an AI platform that predicts viewers' likely reactions to ads, 14 of the first 19 ads released online ahead of the game featured "amusement" as their top emotion.

Examples include the "It Hits the Spot" ad for Hellmann's Mayonnaise, which enlisted Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan to humorously recreate the classic deli scene from "When Harry Met Sally." Elsewhere, Adam Brody sounds a Pringles can like a blowing horn to conjure the facial hair off famous mustachioed men, including Chiefs coach Andy Reid, NBA star James Harden, the actor Nick Offerman, and Mr. Potato Head. And Coors Light features a slew of CGI sloths who encapsulate what it's like to have a "case of the Mondays" after staying up late on Super Bowl Sunday.

Brynna Aylward, North America chief creative officer of the ad agency Adam&EveDDB, said the overriding warmth of the ads released so far reflects "the hug that we all need this year."

Advertisers have clamored to feature celebrities

The sheer number of celebrities in the commercial breaks won't go unnoticed.

In 2010, only around one-third of Super Bowl ads featured a celebrity, but according to iSpot.tv, celebrities starred in around 70% of the ads in every Super Bowl since 2020.

"It's a shortcut to get people's attention, to get people really excited, and to really say what your brand stands for in tying it to a personality," DDB's Aylward said.

Keep an eye out for celebrities who appeal to Gen Z — see Nerds with singer-songwriter Shaboozey, for example — as this generation moves further into adulthood and has increased buying power, Aylward added.

Uber Eats' 60-second ad will feature a host of well-known stars: Matthew McConaughey, Charli XCX, Greta Gerwig, Sean Evans, Kevin Bacon, and Martha Stewart — seemingly looking to appeal to viewers of all ages.

"We know most of America tunes in to the Super Bowl, from the hardcore football fans to those who watch exclusively for the ads and everyone in between," said Georgie Jeffreys, Uber's head of marketing for North America. "That's why our Uber Eats campaign for the Big Game this year strives to have a little something for everyone."

Nostalgia in numbers

Other Super Bowl advertisers are betting that nostalgia will ensure their commercial success.

Budweiser's cinematic Clydesdale horses and Doritos, with its user-generated "Crash the Super Bowl" contest, are among the returning advertisers hoping to stir memories of Super Bowls past.

Instacart's first-ever Super Bowl ad features the Jolly Green Giant, Kool-Aid Man, Pillsbury Doughboy, and the Energizer Bunny, among other famous brand characters, joining forces to deliver groceries.

Instacart's chief marketing officer, Laura Jones, said the company didn't want to use a celebrity as a "crutch" and instead wanted to try something different.

"We said, let's actually break the patterns," Jones said. "Let's not do what everyone else is doing. And frankly, it'll either be a huge hit or a huge flop."

Whatever theme marketers opt for, Super Bowl ads have become much more than a 30-second TV ad. There are the teasers, pre-game promotions and competitions, on-the-ground experiences on game day, and then the social media activity that looks to maintain the momentum long after the final whistle.

"Brands are spending so much more money on Super Bowl ads for such a short time; they are trying to maximize this opportunity more than ever," said Minkyung Kim, assistant professor of marketing at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business.

Margaret Johnson, the chief creative officer at Goodby Silverstein & Partners, has worked on Super Bowl campaigns for Cheetos, Pepsi, and E-Trade, among others, in her 29-year tenure at the creative agency. For Super Bowl LIX, the agency has produced campaigns for Doritos and Mountain Dew Baja Blast. Johnson said the Super Bowl is set to remain advertising's tentpole event for years to come.

"It's one of the last remaining collective viewing experiences and, with the impact you can have on culture, I would say 100% it's worth it," Johnson said.

Correction: February 4, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated the name of a brand character appearing in Instacart's ad; it's the Energizer Bunny, not the Duracell Bunny.