Instacart to make its Super Bowl advertising debut

The news: Major retail brands are already lining up their spots for February’s Super Bowl —America's biggest advertising stage.

• Instacart is making its Super Bowl ad debut in 2025, working with TBWA\Chiat\Day and its in-house creative team. The campaign will build on the company's previous sports marketing efforts, including tie-ins with Michelob Ultra and the Olympics. The grocery delivery service sees the Big Game as an unmatched opportunity to boost brand recognition, notes CMO Laura Jones.
• After sitting out for three years, Taco Bell plans to make a Super Bowl splash with an interactive campaign that encourages customer participation. The fast-food chain aims to blend traditional advertising with hands-on customer experiences, likely involving its restaurant locations.

Nothing succeeds like success: Sellers like Instacart, Taco Bell, and Skechers gravitate to the Super Bowl for a simple reason: It performs.

• E.l.f. Beauty's approach to this year’s game offers valuable lessons for newcomers. The “Judge Beauty” campaign gained significant traction through a clever partnership with Roku.
• The beauty brand's connected TV (CTV) strategy yielded impressive results, including 41 million total impressions, a 37% increase in message association, 66,000 website visits through Roku's Brand Showcase, and strong engagement with viewers ages 18 to 29.

Our take: Despite changing viewing habits and rising costs—Fox sold out its inventory at roughly $7 million per 30-second spot—the Super Bowl remains powerful for reaching diverse audiences. Extending campaigns beyond the typical 30-second spot through CTV and social platforms, with added interactivity, is becoming essential to maximize an ad’s impact, especially among younger viewers.

Looking ahead, we can expect more brands to adopt this hybrid approach, using the Super Bowl's massive reach while leveraging digital platforms and real-world experiences to deepen customer relationships. The key to success will likely be finding creative ways to extend these expensive advertising moments beyond the game itself.

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