Behind Squarespace’s Super Bowl ad starring Barry Keoghan—CCO David Lee on the creative process and ‘indie film’ approach

Squarespace has always brought a level of quirkiness to its Super Bowl campaigns, from 2015’s Jeff Bridges Sleep Tapes, to 2017’s Emmy-winning John Malkovich work, to 2020’s ad with Winona Ryder visiting Winona, Minn., to 2023’s Adam Driver spot, “The Singularity.” The run continues this year with Squarespace’s 11th Super Bowl spot starring the indie-darling Irish actor Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Saltburn”), making his first Super Bowl appearance. In the extended version of the Super Bowl spot, below, Keoghan rides a donkey around rural Ireland in times gone by—perhaps centuries ago—tossing out laptops like they’re newspapers to the local entrepreneurs, who could certainly benefit from having a nicely designed web presence for their small businesses. Made in-house and directed by Steve Rogers (with Biscuit Filmworks x Revolver handling production), the spot will air in a 30-second version during Sunday’s Super Bowl on Fox. The campaign also features a Don Mosley website design, named for the donkey character, which Squarespace users can employ as a template for their own sites—it has features such as advanced layouts, animations, a portfolio and appointment booking through Acuity Scheduling. Here is the 30-second version that will air on the game: David Lee, chief creative officer at Squarespace, told Ad Age that the spot embodies what has long been the brand’s approach to the Super Bowl, blending “brave ideas, surprising talent, offbeat humor and cinematic craftsmanship.” “I’ve always envisioned our brand as the daring indie film that stands toe-to-toe with the major superhero blockbusters each year, and I take great pride in the unique creative space we’ve carved out,” Lee said. At the same time, Squarespace does try to look at its Super Bowl work through a different lens each year. Below, Lee explains more about the creative process, working with Keoghan, what Rogers brought to the table this year and how Squarespace measures the effectiveness of its Big Game spots. Super Bowl commercials Tracking the latest brand and agency plans Click here Ad Age: Tell us about this concept. Do you brainstorm around what might be a “Super Bowl” worthy idea? David Lee: This year’s concept stems from a simple insight: Squarespace has been woven into the fabric of the internet since its early days. For nearly as long as websites have existed, there has been Squarespace. With this campaign, we wanted to imagine a timeless origin story set in a bygone era—where websites are delivered door-to-door like newspapers. We loved the idea of a period piece set many years ago against the majestic beauty of Ireland. Barry Keoghan plays a charismatic figure from the future, embodying the passion and dreams of the entrepreneurs of the time—delivering the good word of websites across the land, spinning “A Tale as Old as Websites.” Did you come up with the idea with Keoghan in mind? Looking back at the talent we’ve partnered with, there’s always been a distinct DNA that feels intrinsically aligned with the Squarespace brand. From Malkovich to Keanu [Reeves], Winona, Zendaya, Driver and now Barry—each embodies a unique blend of talent, timelessness and a desire to do something different at the Big Game. For this concept, we wanted a setting that straddles the line between realism and fantasy. Once we landed on Ireland as the backdrop, Barry was the natural choice for the role. He’s one of the most talented young actors working today—and this felt like the perfect moment to collaborate. Why do you think he will break through on the game? What makes Barry particularly special is that he’s not a traditionally trained actor. That rawness gives his performances an earnest, honest quality—exactly what we needed to bring this character to life. He’s incredibly compelling on screen, effortlessly balancing seriousness with the offbeat humor we always strive for. There was simply no one better suited to lead this campaign. What did Steve Rogers bring to the campaign? From the start, we wanted this spot to feel like a real film, not just an ad. That meant finding a director who wasn’t just a great storyteller, but someone capable of crafting a visual world indistinguishable from cinema—while seamlessly blending the distinct humor we were after. Super Bowl commercials Tracking the latest brand and agency plans Click here We aimed to strike a perfect balance between poetic grace and dry humor, and nobody captured that essence quite like Steve. As he described it, this film draws equal inspiration from the lyrical beauty of James Joyce and the comedic brilliance of Monty Python—forming the ideal blend for our creative vision. How do you measure success of a Super Bowl commercial? Our focus is on brand awareness—creating something memorable that stays with the audience both in the moment and long after. While the immediate buzz and impressions are a big part of the equation, we are looking to measure the long-term impact. We don’t expect people to start building a website the second they see an ad; launching a site requires an idea, a business and a reason to take that step. Our goal is simple: when that moment arrives—when someone is ready to turn a passion project into something real—we want Squarespace to be top of mind. That’s why we strive to create work that cuts through the noise and leaves a lasting impression. If we’ve made an emotional connection, we’ve done our job—ensuring that when the time comes, we’re the first choice.

Behind Squarespace’s Super Bowl ad starring Barry Keoghan—CCO David Lee on the creative process and ‘indie film’ approach

Featured Stories