Ben Stiller and Benson Boone Hit the High Notes in Instacart Teasers Directed by Spike Jonze
Instacart has dropped two 30-second teaser spots for its 2026 Super Bowl campaign, starring Ben Stiller and Benson Boone as moustachioed, bickering brothers in a music, ‘80s-inspired world directed by Spike Jonze via MJZ.
The first teaser, ‘Harmonizing’, features the duo singing about how Instacart lets you choose your bananas, until their melodies are interrupted by classic brotherly bickering, setting up the campaign’s throwback energy and musical charm.
The second spot, ‘Goals’, sees Stiller’s character Gary share his excitement for their upcoming performance. Declaring that he’s hoping for “many, many goals”, his enthusiasm is stifled by the interruption of his little brother, John, played by multi-platinum recording artist Benson Boone. Stiller mocks him as having “big moustache, and big muscles, but still little boy head,” after he explains, “It’s a different football. They touch down.”
Created by Instacart’s internal creative agency Local Produce in partnership with BBDO and McCann, the brand announced its return to the Super Bowl on January 5th, declaring that it would return on a “whole new level,” following its debut appearance last year.
Chief marketing officer Laura Jones said of the brand’s return, “After the tremendous response to our first-ever Super Bowl campaign in 2025, returning in 2026 was a logical decision for the business. Last year’s campaign, ‘We’re Here’ broke through in culture and delivered real results, driving growth in orders, new customers, and engagement across the board for Instacart and our CPG partners. We’re thrilled to build on that momentum and bring Instacart back to the Big Game for a second year, finding a fresh way to delight fans and continue accelerating our growth.”
Danilo Boer, global creative partner at McCann, added, “When we started working with the Instacart team, it was clear they believed in breakthrough ideas and it immediately felt like we could do something big together. That openness paved the way for an epic idea that entertains fans during advertising’s biggest night of the year — we think we’ve made the perfect recipe for a Super Bowl win.”
The teasers will air across a multi-platform campaign, including the following broadcast programming highlights in the US: ‘Goals’ will air during the NFC Championship Game on January 25th on FOX, and ‘Harmonizing’ will air during the Super Bowl pregame on February 8th on NBC.
With both teasers positioning the brothers ahead of a big performance, it remains to be seen whether the story resolves in a full musical number and how far Instacart takes the throwback feeling on Super Bowl Sunday.
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