Winona Returns to Winona in Squarespace's Thoroughly Pleasant Big Game Ad

Squarespace's sixth consecutive Super Bowl campaign features Winona Ryder returning to her namesake town of Winona, Minnesota.

The campaign features a 30-second spot and three-minute short film that amusingly follow Winona as she captures the essence of her hometown through photography and builds her first website, WelcometoWinona.com. The films were directed by Anonymous Content's Tim Godsall and created by Squarespace's consistently strong in-house creative team. The 30-second spot will run in the first half of the Big Game, and is part of a larger creative campaign showcasing the concept that no matter what your dream is, a website makes it real.

“Growing up in a small town, you come to value the independent businesses that make a place like Winona thrive," said Winona. "Winona represents a lot of small towns and cities that aren't talked about as often or don't get as much attention. Helping to give a voice and a platform through Squarespace to this town is really wonderful."

Squarespace founder and CEO Anthony Casalena said: “Our mission at Squarespace is to be the all-in-one platform that powers the online presence for anyone who wants to stand out. For our sixth spot starring Winona Ryder, we set out to uplift the stories of small town America to inspire anyone to tell their unique story and legitimise their idea with a website.”

Welcome to Winona was primarily shot on location in Winona, MN, and features real Winonans. The campaign includes a digital long form film and a professionally produced photo book featuring portraits, landscapes, and still lifes shot by Winona Ryder. Squarespace is offering residents of Winona a comped website for one year to provide a platform to the people and places that make the town thrive, and support the small business and entrepreneurs who are the fabric of the community.

“We wanted to work with someone notable who had yet to create their online presence,” said David Lee, Chief Creative Officer of Squarespace. “Winona is an iconic actress with an iconic name, who also has an endearing origin story. Together, we set out to tell a story of self discovery, and follow along on her travels to the place where it all began. Welcome to Winona is an art project, a personal statement, and a meta journey about identity, but most importantly it’s also a celebration of the people and places that make Winona, Winona.”

Squarespace has been advertising at the Super Bowl since 2014 and has partnered with unexpected yet notable customers Keanu Reeves, Jeff Bridges, and John Malkovich, among others, to share how their websites came to life.