The Intriguing Story Behind Ray-Ban's Meta Smart Glasses Ad

Published On Mon Feb 10 2025
The Intriguing Story Behind Ray-Ban's Meta Smart Glasses Ad

Chris Hemsworth Ate Kris Jenner's Banana in Ray-Ban Meta Super ...

Chris Pratt also makes a cameo in the spot.

To promote their new Meta Glasses, Ray-Ban has enlisted the help of Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, and Kris Jenner. In a new commercial that debuted on Sunday during the 2025 Super Bowl, Hemsworth and Pratt find themselves in Jenner’s apartment. There, while Pratt is using the smart glasses to identify a piece of art, which is a banana taped to the wall, Hemsworth eats the banana.

Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses TV Spot, 'Nasty' Featuring Tinashe ...

Art World Story Reference

The spot is a reference to a much-circulated art world story. In 2019, artist Maurizio Cattelan debuted “Comedian,” a new piece of conceptual art at Art Basel Miami. The work quickly made headlines, selling in three editions for $120,000 to $150,000. One of those editions was donated to the Guggenheim.

Comedian (artwork) - Wikipedia

In November 2024, an edition of “Comedian” was sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $6.2 million. In the Ray-Ban spot, this is the number messaged for the price of the piece when Hemsworth asks.

Commercial Details

The commercial was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who also directed the film “Kingsman.” The 30-second spot ends with Jenner requesting that Meta calls her lawyer. The extended version includes Pratt identifying other pieces of art from Jenner’s collection.

Other Cultural References

This isn’t the first reference to the viral piece of art in culture. In November at the Torino Film Festival Naike Rivelli playfully offered her take. She taped a banana to the back of her crushed velvet suit while on the red carpet.

The Ray-Ban Meta collection features various Ray-Ban frames equipped with Meta AI technology. There are four different silhouettes ranging from $299 to $379. Unlike some other smart eyewear, the frames do not utilize buttons but are activated by voice and have temple-tip speakers.

Super Bowl LIX

Annually, the Super Bowl broadcasts host some of the most anticipated and expensive commercials. The Super Bowl LIX, the NFL’s championship game for the 2024 season, took place on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. This marked the 11th time New Orleans hosted the Super Bowl, tying with Miami for the most by any city. Kendrick Lamar performed at the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show.