Instagram wants you to turn on your TV and throw a Reels watch party

For Meta, the Instagram for TV app is the key to unlocking more viewership in the living room. Reels, however, have typically been consumed in a solitary manner — so how do you bring that experience to a communal space?

To answer that question, Instagram teamed up with the L.A.-based agency Special U.S. A campaign called Watch While reimagines Reels as the foundation of vertical video watch parties that can be broadcast through connected TVs.

Platforms like YouTube and TikTok have built excitement for new features by harnessing the power of creator testimonials. For the Watch While campaign, Instagram and Special adopted a similar approach. One spot features Ameya Okomoto, Vikram Thanigaivelan, and Carson Gillaspia, who all find different uses for the Instagram for TV app. Okomoto, a nail tech, turns it on to entertain a client; Thanigaivelan uses it as background noise for a cooking lesson; and Gillaspia plays stretching Reels to prepare his parents for a long walk.

Since the days of IGTV, Meta has sought a bigger slice of living room traffic for its photo- and video-sharing app. Instagram for TV, which launched late last year

, is the latest attempt to increase that market share. YouTube’s dominance on TV screens has allowed it to attract more ad dollars while positioning its creators as alternatives to mainstream television. Can Instagram achieve similar gains?

For that mission to succeed, Instagram needs to convince its users that Reels are not just the snackable videos you watch when you’re bored. The first Instagram for TV campaign, which was also executed alongside Special, contended that Reels viewership can be a shared social experience — akin to YouTube’s UGC playlists of yesteryear.

The Watch While campaign continues to beat that drum. It’s hard to imagine that many Instagram users will stream vertical videos in their living room when there are so many entertainment choices available, but if they see their favorite creators watching Reels on TV, maybe they’ll follow along.