Intuit TurboTax returned to the Super Bowl for the 13th consecutive year in 2026 with a hilariously dramatic mockumentary starring Adrien Brody – a contrast that the team behind the spot says allowed them to create something effortlessly funny and “un–Super Bowl”.
Created by R/GA and directed by MJZ's Craig Gillespie, the ad followed a teaser campaign that revealed Adrien Brody as 'The Expert', showing him rehearsing in his trailer before shooting the ad. The full 45-second ad then aired just before halftime on February 8th, following another 30-second teaser pre-game. All of these components combine to form the two-minute extended cut, which is now running on the brand’s owned digital channels, in its retail locations, and in cinemas nationwide.
Speaking to LBB, Intuit’s VP of marketing, consumer group, Trevor Kelly, says that TurboTax’s previous Super Bowl spot introduced the brand as an expert-led alternative, while this year, the brief was to more directly highlight the benefits of its experts – an “unparalleled combination of advanced agentic AI and actual human expertise”.
Creative agency R/GA then delivered a cultural insight that sparked the Hollywood mockumentary concept, reminiscent of Seth Rogen’s Apple TV show ‘The Studio’: people love drama and sensationalisation in entertainment, but decidedly not when it comes to finances. “When you combined those two ideas… it was magical,” says Trevor.
Ryan O’Keefe, group creative director at R/GA, elaborates, “That tension became the idea. Instead of inventing drama, we challenged its absence by casting one of the most dramatic actors working today. [Casting] Adrien Brody wasn’t about celebrity, he was proof that if he couldn’t bring drama to TurboTax, then the brand promise holds under any pressure.”
The ad was written specifically with Adrien in mind, he reveals. “His reputation for intense, serious roles made the idea of him playing a self-aware version of himself training to play a TurboTax Expert inherently funny. That contrast let us keep the writing deliberately dry, restrained, and un–Super Bowl. Luckily for us, from day one, Adrien was fully in on the joke and we were grateful to be trusted with his first real step into comedy in this way.”
Trevor notes that this was also Adrien’s first Super Bowl spot in 15 years, “and he is rightfully particular about all of his projects, so it was an honour to work with him,” he says. “We were also lucky enough to work with award-winning director Craig Gillespie as well, who had an incredible vision and spirit.”
Ryan agrees, describing the director’s understated comedic sensibilities as “the perfect counter” to Adrien’s dramatic intensity. “He knows exactly when to push, when to step back, and when to save everyone from themselves. ‘The Expert’ needed that kind of director; someone who could protect the idea from overthinking while making it all feel effortless.”
Trevor says being on set and watching the director and actor combine was an “incredible” experience. “He is truly such a gifted actor, and a lot of what you see in the final spot was his improvising. He had a lot of fun with this comedic role and has shared as much in interviews! He is an incredible comedic actor, along with being an incredible dramatic actor, and that has shown in a lot of his recent work, including our Super Bowl spot.”
After several years of working together, TurboTax and R/GA have developed a trust and non-traditional client-agency dynamic that gives the agency “the space to really cook”, shares Ryan. “Year after year, we’ve learnt that the strongest work comes from aligning early around a clear idea and committing to protect it. It’s that trust that allowed us to take a more confident, more restrained swing this year and let the simplicity of the idea do the heavy lifting.”
Although, having the idea nailed down early on can also be scary, “because you know that’s when great work is most at risk,” he continues. “The challenge quickly became less about finding the idea and more about protecting it.” Fortunately, this built-up trust between strong advocates on both the brand and agency side helped keep the concept sharp all the way through to game day.
Over the past year, TurboTax’s ‘Now This Is Taxes’ marketing platform has seen increased focus on Gen Z – especially with its recent approach to music in its ads. And, according to Trevor, this thinking “absolutely carried into” the brand’s Big Game work.
“In recent years, Adrien has caught the attention of younger audiences, particularly following his acclaimed performance in the 2024 film ‘The Brutalist’, which was distributed by A24 Films and for which he won numerous awards,” he explains. “As many Gen Z look to file their taxes for the first time, or are in the market for live tax support, we are excited to highlight Adrien’s performance and TurboTax experts as the gold standard in a modern, stress-free tax filing experience.”
He adds, “So many consumers still settle for doing their taxes in a very antiquated way, and TurboTax is the antidote to that because we have our unparalleled combination of AI and HI (human intelligence). The digital platform is incredibly easy and then enhanced with human expertise. And we’ve used the largest stage possible to get this message out and create something really fun and memorable.”
You can catch up on all the Super Bowl LX adshere.