Celebrity Net worth places actor Jon Hamm’s personal fortune at $45 million—enough to buy many boxes of Ritz crackers. Nevertheless, Hamm is bereft of the salty snack in Ritz’s 2026 Super Bowl ad, released Tuesday.
In the spot, he peers enviously through binoculars at a party where the merrymakers have plenty of Ritz crackers—but haven’t invited him to join the fun.
The 30-second ad, created by the Martin Agency, has Hamm share the spotlight with comedian Bowen Yang and actress Scarlett Johansson. Leaving aside the $8M purchase ad buy, Mondelēz has paid for considerable star power.
“We’ve been very intentional about selecting the cast,” Mondelēz International’s president of savory snacking, Steven Saenen, told ADWEEK. “We have this trio of talent that resonate across generations and household types.”
And that’s the larger objective driving this ad, which holds onto the theme of saltiness (as in crankiness) introduced last year in Ritz’s Big Game debut.
Last year’s spot seems to have paid off. Saenen told USA TODAY that Ritz gained market share after last year’s Super Bowl debut, adding 1 million new households in the first half of the year. He told USA TODAY the campaign helped shift brand perception by casting Ritz in a “more modern light.”
Mondelez’s stable of brands includes Oreo, Chips Ahoy, and Triscuit, but management sees untapped potential in the 91-year-old Ritz, and has been working to position it as a party snack suited to everyday snacking. Central to that strategy is broadening the crackers’ appeal across the demographic spectrum. That’s where the celebs come in handy.
In 2025’s Super Bowl ad, actors Michael Shannon and Aubrey Plaza and singer Bad Bunny attended a party for salty people. Despite the “No Smiles Allowed” sign, the attendees found their moods boosted by the cracker’s unexpectedly buttery flavor.
There’s a party going on in this year’s spot, too, but it’s on the tropical Ritz Island. Hamm and Yang are up in a tree—and feeling very salty—because they don’t want to mingle, but do want some crackers. Only the appearance of Johansson on a jet boat is enough to ease the surliness and save the day for all three of them.
