Instacart Launches ‘How Homemade is Made’ Brand Campaign

Instacart, the San Francisco-based online grocery platform, has launched the company’s first integrated brand campaign. Titled, “How Homemade is Made,” the campaign spotlights the power of meals to bring people together through a new film, TV commercials, paid social and more.

“Just in time for the biggest food and family holiday of the year, we’re proud to unveil How Homemade is Made, our first fully integrated brand campaign that captures the love and joy that comes from enjoying a beloved family recipe,” said Fidji Simo, CEO at Instacart, in a statement. “To date, Instacart’s sweet spot has been unmatched speed and selection, which has served millions of busy customers well as they discovered the time-saving convenience of online grocery.

“Over the course of the pandemic, many people rediscovered the joy of cooking at home—whether serving up a favorite recipe or trying their hand at a fun new food trend,” continued Simo. “As we look ahead, Instacart’s opportunity is to partner with grocery retailers to also inspire people across all of their food needs, whether it’s cooking your mom's short ribs or putting together a quick lunch box for your kids. With this campaign, we hope to remind people that food is more than sustenance; it’s an opportunity for human connection.”

A new film, created in partnership with Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P) and directed by award-winning director Ian Pons Jewell, seeks to capture How Homemade is Made. “The story’s narrative is served up in a fresh, playful way, encouraging viewers to imagine a world where one-of-a-kind family dishes were commercially available,” says Instacart.

The campaign includes TV commercials, which will run in 60- and 30-second spots from Nov. 14, 2021 through Jan. 2, 2022 on ABC, CBS and NBC; online video (YouTube); paid social, influencer marketing (#HowHomemadeIsMade); programmatic advertising; and digital out-of-home (OOH) activations, which will run through the holiday season.

Every dish shown in the campaign is instantly shoppable with live QR codes that take customers to a shoppable recipe on the Instacart app. In conjunction, Instacart has also refreshed its visual identity, bringing new images of food being shared in familiar settings among family and friends into brand creative and the Instacart app. 

“Instacart combines the speed and convenience of technology with one of the most emotionally resonant human experiences - the shared meal with loved ones,” said Rich Silverstein, co-founder and co-chairman of GS&P. “We developed the How Homemade is Made campaign to highlight how the traditional concepts of food, family and shared meals that we know consumers crave can not only live alongside modern technology, but actually be fueled by it.”

The company’s brand strategy was developed in partnership with TwentyFirstCenturyBrand. The “How Homemade is Made” film and campaign were created in partnership with GS&P, and the media planning and execution were led by GroupM. The social media and influencer campaign was developed in partnership with Media.Monks.