# Instacart uses Shrek and Scooby-Doo to sell AI shopping assistant, softening tech with nostalgia

*Licensing familiar characters makes abstract technology feel approachable, a tactic small brands can borrow for complex products.*

By **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA, Principal** — The Stash Edge, Hako Shikin LLC.
Published 2026-09-21.

Canonical: https://www.pops4.com/stash/articles/instacart-2026-09-21t06-6
Subject: Instacart
Tags: character-driven marketing, ai marketing, brand storytelling, emotional framing, licensed ip

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Instacart launched a marketing campaign for its AI-powered shopping assistant by pairing the technology with licensed characters including Shrek, Scooby-Doo, and others from the DreamWorks and Warner Bros. catalogues, according to Marketing Dive. The company is using these recognizable personalities to explain and humanize an otherwise abstract feature—an AI tool that helps users shop faster by generating lists, suggesting recipes, and answering product questions.

The campaign deploys the characters across video spots, social content, and in-app placements. Each character demonstrates a use case: Shrek might help a user plan a birthday dinner, while Scooby-Doo could suggest snacks for a movie night. The AI assistant itself remains in the background, with the character serving as the emotional anchor and proof of utility. Instacart did not disclose campaign spend or initial performance metrics, but the company told Marketing Dive the effort is designed to drive trial among users who have not yet engaged with the AI feature.

The mechanism works because it translates complexity into familiarity. AI shopping assistants are still new to most consumers, and the value proposition—natural language queries, automated list-building—requires explanation. Iconic characters short-circuit that barrier. A user who grew up with Shrek already trusts the character, and that trust transfers to the tool the character endorses. The nostalgia provides emotional permission to try something unfamiliar. It is the same principle behind celebrity endorsements, but with fictional IP that carries decades of positive association and no risk of scandal.

This approach is particularly effective for functional products that solve a real problem but require a behavior change. The AI assistant is useful, but only if users remember it exists and understand when to invoke it. The character campaign creates mental availability: when a user thinks about meal planning or shopping, they recall Shrek, and Shrek recalls the assistant. The character becomes a retrieval cue.

A small physical-product brand can borrow this play without licensing Shrek. The steal is to pair your complex or unfamiliar product with a simple, emotionally resonant story vehicle that your audience already knows. If you sell a new kitchen gadget that requires explanation, film a **30-second reel** using a trending audio clip or meme format your target customer already loves. The format provides the familiarity; your product rides inside it. If you sell a technical outdoor tool, create a character mascot—a hand-drawn animal, a retro mascot—and use it consistently across all touchpoints. The character does not need to be licensed. It needs to be consistent, emotionally clear, and tied to a single use case. Budget: **$0-$500** for illustration if you outsource, or free if you use existing meme templates and audio. Run the content as organic social first, then boost the top performer with **$200-$1,000** in paid spend to your warmest audience segment. Measure click-through to product page and add-to-cart rate within seven days.

The broader pattern is that abstraction kills conversion, and borrowed emotion sells. If your product requires explanation, do not lead with features. Lead with a story structure or character your customer already understands, then nest the product inside that frame. The frame does the emotional work; the product does the functional work. Instacart is not selling AI. It is selling Shrek, and Shrek happens to use AI.

## The takeaway

Pair unfamiliar products with familiar characters or story formats to borrow emotional trust and short-circuit the explanation barrier.

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## Publisher

**Hako Shikin LLC** — Virginia Beach, Virginia. Founded 1997. ASI 217876 · DUNS 18-204-6339.
Principal and author: **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA**.

- Author: https://www.huanggoodman.com/about
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