Despite some initial skepticism about whether it was the right move, financial services company Social Finance, or SoFi, is now all in on the Super Bowl.
Part of a larger introductory campaign from creative shop Muh-tay-zik Hof-fer, one 30-second ad will appear during the game, with another running shortly before kickoff. The in-game spot looks to give consumers a taste of what exactly SoFi is and how it is different from traditional banking.
The humorous approach seeks to explain the company's unique business model in a lighthearted way.
"Not everyone qualifies for our products, so we didn't want to say, 'Hey everyone come in here and get a loan,'" said Joanne Bradford, chief operating officer of SoFi.
The 30-second spot, which will run in the first half of the Super Bowl, was shot by director Marc Forster who is known for films like Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball and Quantum of Solace.
With this campaign SoFi is looking to boost its brand awareness, though Bradford was initially leery of Muh-tay-zik Hof-fer's suggestion to go to the Super Bowl to do that.
"With [my] background in digital, I was like, that's so old school, why would we do that?" said Bradford. "In the end, I went and got proposals from many digital publishers and I went and added them all, and it didn't get you the reach, the excitement or the opportunity to introduce ourselves to the marketplace in a cost-effective way. No amount of homepage takeovers, no amount of native content, no amount of posting would bring you the reach and the impact that a Super Bowl ad would."
SoFi will also be running another spot shortly before the Super Bowl, leaning on consumers' distrust of traditional banking following 2008's financial crisis. The ad uses phrases like "Too big to fail," before the Big Game to get consumers curious about the company.
For more Super Bowl 50 news, check out Adweek's Super Bowl Ad Tracker, an up-to-date list of the brands running Super Bowl spots and the agencies involved in creating them.
CREDITS
Client: SoFi
Project: Great Loans for Great People
Agency: MUH-TAY-ZIK | HOF-FER
Executive Creative Directors: John Matejczyk, Jay Berry
Associate Creative Directors: Adam Ledbury, Guy Lemberg
Director of Strategy: Matt Hofherr
Associate Strategy Director: Rachel Gold
Designer: Bob Dinetz
Head of Production: Michelle Spear Nicholson
Senior Producer: Jona Goodman Suarez
Producer: Megan Ubovich
Account Director: Noel McKenzie-Johnson
Account Supervisor: Veronika Luquin Campbell
Director of Media: Eric Perko
Media Strategist: Nadia Last
Production / Tool
Director: Marc Forster
Director of Photography: Nicholas Loir
Executive Producer: Robert Helphand
Producer Lindsay Skutch
Editorial / Arcade
Editor: Kim Bica
Executive Producer: Nicole Visram
Post Producer: Adam Becht
VFX / FRAMESTORE
Senior Visual Effects Producer: James Alexander
Senior Executive Producer: James Razzall
Visual Effects Supervisior: Michael Ralla
Executive Creative Director: Aron Hjartarson
Color / Frame Store:
Senior Colorist: Beau Leon
Record and Final Mix / Eleven
Senior Engineer: Jeff Payne
Music / Squeaky Clean
Composer: Rob Barbato
Executive Producer: Carol Dunn
Music Producer: Chris Shaw
Client: SoFi
Project: This Is the Beginning of a Bankless World
Agency: MUH-TAY-ZIK HOF-FER
Executive Creative Directors: John Matejczyk, Jay Berry
Associate Creative Directors: Adam Ledbury, Guy Lemberg
Creative Director: Todd Bois
Designer: Bob Dinetz
Head of Production: Michelle Spear Nicholson
Senior Producer: Jona Goodman Suarez
Producer: Megan Ubovich
Account Director: Noel McKenzie-Johnson
Account Supervisor: Veronika Luquin Campbell
Director of Strategy: Matt Hofherr
Associate Director of Strategy: Rachel Gold
Director of Media: Eric Perko
Media Strategist: Nadia Last
Production / FURLINED
Director: Douglas Avery
Director of Photography: Max Goldman
Head of Production: Sheila Eisenstein
Senior Executive Producer: David Thorne
Executive Producer: David Richards
Producer Greg Haggart
Editorial / WHITEHOUSE POST
Editor: Brandon Porter
Head of Production: Joanna Manning
Post Producer: Jennifer Mersis
Finishing / CARBON LA
Executive Producer: Matthew McManus
Color / COMPANY 3
Senior Colorist: Dave Hussey
Record and Final Mix / ONE UNION
Senior Engineers: Eben Carr, Matt Zipkin
Music / TRAVIS + MAUDE
Executive Producer: Kala Sherman
