Ben Affleck is joining a new team and in the process, finally clearing the air about a long-running mixup.
The actor and filmmaker, 54, is starring in a new series of commercials for the insurance company Aflac. USA TODAY has an exclusive first look at the first two cuts of the ad, "Green Room." In the spots, Affleck stars alongside Aflac spokespeople Deion Sanders, Nick Saban and Dawn Staley.
Of course, the Aflac Duck is there too. The brand is leaning into star power, the personalities of the names involved, and the near-homophone of the brand and Ben's last name, which sound alike.
Garth Knutson, Aflac's Chief Marketing Officer, says the brand has ideated around a campaign starring Affleck for at least a decade, if not longer. This campaign began
two years ago, when the insurance company reached out to Affleck's production studio Artists Equity. Affleck cofounded the studio and entertainment company with Matt Damon and investor Gerry Cardinale in 2022.
Knutson recalls his first meeting with Affleck. It was scheduled for 15 minutes but lasted 90, as the filmmaker and brand executives traded questions and ideas. The CMO reveals that Aflac has since tapped Artists Equity as its creative agency of record, with talks of an extension to their partnership already in the works.
"This was the smoothest production that I've ever been on," Knutson tells USA TODAY. The marketer also enjoyed the dynamic on set between Affleck and the coaches. "It was this almost mutual admiration of like, 'You won a couple of Oscars. I won a couple of national championships.'"
After its USA TODAY premiere, the ads will debut Saturday, Sept. 5, on ESPN's College Gameday. The brand says that the series of commercials will run through the summer of 2027 across a number of tentpole sporting events, including the College Football Playoff, the men's and women's college basketball tournaments and key NFL matchups. The campaign will touch on live moments outside of sports as well, including the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
In addition to starring in the ads, Affleck is producing and co-directing the spots with Artists Equity co-president of advertising Brandon Pierce. Knutson says the Oscar-winner was very involved in the process from start to finish.
"I've been an advertising guy my whole career," Knutson, who was in the ad agency world before joining Aflac in 2021, says. "And usually an agency will come in and present scripts, but it's the creative who wrote the script. But to be in the first round of presentations and to have all of the scripts starring Ben Affleck and to have him reading his lines, it was just this very surreal moment."
Artists Equity is no stranger to big ads, producing a number of commercials that have performed well on USA TODAY Ad Meter, in which panelists rate their favorite Super Bowl commercials. The company's 2023 Big Game spot for Dunkin', which costarred Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, ranked in the top 5 that year. Artists Equity also produced a Stella Artois campaign with Damon and David Beckham that cracked the top 5 in 2025's Ad Meter rankings.
Will Affleck bring Aflac back to the Big Game? The company ran a 2017 Super Bowl ad during the pregame broadcast. And while this year's game on ABC is already sold out of inventory, Knutson won't completely rule out the possibility.
"We believe in the work so much," Knutson says. "In fact, Ben even said in a creative meeting after we saw the third piece, he was like, 'This is a Super Bowl commercial.'
"I was like, 'Ben, can you call my boss and ask him if he has $12 million?'" Knutson says with a laugh.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Affleck meets Aflac in exclusive first look at brand's new ad campaign
