• by Danielle Oster , January 25, 2025

As viewers tune in to find out which NFL teams will be going to New Orleans for the Super Bowl, Instacart is teasing its first-ever Big Game ad.

Last November, the company revealed  it would be making its Super Bowl debut with a national broadcast ad airing during Fox’s coverage of Super Bowl.  Its teaser ad will air Jan. 26, during broadcasts of the AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, and the NFC Championship Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.

While viewership for these games doesn't approach the Super Bowl's, it still eclipses that of any other sporting event, at 56.7 million for last year's NFC and 55.5 million for last year’s AFC Championship Games, according to Nielsen.

Ahead of this Sunday’s big games, Instacart launched the teaser video online Jan. 23.

The video stars Isaiah Mustafa, in his Old Spice Guy role, addressing Americans “stocking up for the big game” and directing them to the Instacart app. Other recognizable touchpoints for brands on Instacart also make an appearance, including the Pillsbury Doughboy riding a Heinz Wiener Dog.

The ad positions itself as a rehearsal by its cast, ending by informing viewers “It all comes together 2.9.25,” in reference to the upcoming Super Bowl ad -- which was created by TBWA\Chiat\Day in collaboration with Instacart’s internal creative team.

The approach -- with its focus on showcasing the options available through the service --  shares similarities with successful ads from competitive brands that ran during previous Super Bowls. Last year, DoorDash (which expanded in recent years into grocery delivery, as well as restaurant delivery) earned industry accolades for its “DoorDash All The Ads” spot promising to award every item advertised to one sweepstakes winner.

For Instacart, the Super Bowl spot represents the latest stage of its marketing evolution under CMO Laura Jones, and an increased focus on sports marketing. The brand also made its Olympics debut in 2024, and ran a football-focused campaign this past fall, as well as advertising efforts to reach fans of F1 racing and professional basketball (NBA and WNBA). In a statement, Instacart characterized its prioritization of sports marketing as due to sporting events representing “one of the few high-impact placement opportunities with large viewership.”