Another Winning Ad: Instacart and Aliens

I know I’m an outlier on this one.

I like commercials.

I consider them to be like the tweets of the video world, short, sweet (usually), and to the point. I’ve featured many of my favorite commercials over the years on my blog, and I’m always on the lookout for a new one to feature. That’s why I’ve never wanted to pay for ad-free services, because who knows what I’d be missing if I did.

That’s why I got excited earlier this week when an ad popped up before I started watching a YouTube video, and I was immediately hooked.

The ad is by Instacart, and features a mom and her young son. The mom wants to go grocery shopping, but her son tells her he does not eat earth food. He is busy building a spaceship because he is an alien and he will have friends in space. The mom senses that her son is looking for friends, and has a change of heart. She takes out her phone and begins ordering the groceries through Instacart. I’ll let the video tell the rest of the story:

It appears as if the commercial came out almost a year ago, but I just came across it last week.

It has everything I look for in a good commercial. It tells a story, it gets to me emotionally, and it’s clear what product/company the commercial is focused on. And it does all of that in less than two minutes.

The video currently has over 18 million views, so it looks like it struck a chord with a lot of people. The catchphrase of the ad is: You’ve Got Better Things To Do. Let Us Do The Groceries.

And if Instacart is wondering if the commercial is effective, well I downloaded the app shortly after watching the ad, and I plan to use it this weekend.

I’d say that’s a win.