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The Anatomy of a Summer Campaign: How Instacart Staged a Sick ’90s Throwback | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

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Instacart’s “Summer Like It’s 1999” campaign used nostalgia to recreate the carefree feeling of a late-’90s summer. The campaign combined discounted retro snacks, a cohesive visual identity, immersive advertising, and a free Third Eye Blind concert. Its success depended on close collaboration across creative, marketing, CPG partners, and external agencies, with Figma serving as the shared source of truth.

Recreating ’90s Nostalgia

  • Instacart reduced prices on nostalgic products such as Bagel Bites, Capri-Sun, and Otter Pops to their approximate 1999 prices.
  • The campaign culminated in a free Third Eye Blind concert in New York City.
  • Its visual language drew on:
    • Chunky typography
    • Bright, vivid colors
    • Fish-eye photography
    • Oversize clothing and other recognizable ’90s references
  • The team aimed to evoke nostalgia while keeping the work distinctly recognizable as Instacart.

Building an All-in-One Creative Toolkit

  • Instacart’s in-house creative studio held daily meetings to align on:
    • Typography
    • Color palettes
    • Illustration
    • Photography
    • Logo and lockup treatments
  • Designers explored a wide range of ’90s references before reducing them to the essential elements that fit the brand.
  • The resulting toolkit documented the campaign’s colors, illustrations, typography, and other visual rules.
  • It became a living Figma file that internal teams, marketers, and external partners could use to create new assets.
  • The toolkit supported later campaign extensions, including a Venmo partnership and an advertisement inspired by the ’90s movie theater experience.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

  • Creative, marketing, and CPG co-marketing teams worked together from the beginning rather than relying on formal handoffs.
  • Marketers had direct access to Figma, enabling frequent reviews, rapid changes, and visibility into work in progress.
  • The shared workspace helped maintain consistency across many campaign touchpoints, including:
    • The app icon
    • Splash pages
    • Television commercials
    • Billboards
    • Partner executions
  • The toolkit provided a flexible “north star” while allowing teams to remain expressive and adapt the campaign as new needs emerged.

Developing a Detailed Photography Brief

  • The photography brief specified not only the products and scenes to capture, but also the precise visual treatment.
  • The team planned:
    • Low camera angles
    • Fish-eye effects
    • Idyllic outdoor locations
    • ’90s-inspired styling
  • Product placement required careful planning because the brief passed through multiple stakeholders.
  • Illustrations, typography, and textures were designed to layer over the photography, adding complexity and reinforcing a unified campaign style.

Instacart’s campaign demonstrates how a strong, flexible design system can turn a broad creative idea into a coordinated, multi-channel experience. Establishing shared guidelines early—and keeping them accessible throughout production—helped the company move quickly without losing brand consistency.