beluga and man stare at each other
beluga and man stare at each other
beluga and man stare at each other

Super Bowl Genius Beluga

An estimated 127.7 million viewers tuned in for Super Bowl LIX. As a first-time Super Bowl advertiser with a :30 spot in the 3rd quarter, NerdWallet's job was simple - cut through the noise with a breath of crisp North American sea air, and an invitation to let NerdWallet do the work for you when it comes to your finances. NBD! Thankfully we had a genius Beluga on our side to do the talkin'.

Client

NerdWallet

Role

Creative Director

Year

2025

Campaign Platform

Letting NerdWallet do the work for you is genius.

We all want to feel confident that we have the best financial products in our wallets, but who among us actually want to spend all day researching? Certainly not the target audience of this campaign! That's why NerdWallet does the research for you. Whether you're shopping for car insurance, or looking for a new travel credit card, the Nerds got you covered. And if wanting to find the right financial product is smart… then having NerdWallet do the work for you is GENIUS.


Campaign Creative

Where many Super Bowl ads go big (explosions! every single celebrity!), we chose instead to tell a simple story of a man and a (genius) whale. Casting was critical, as was choosing a director and VFX/post partners who believed as we did that the comedy and memorability would be found in the juxtaposition of the National Geographic location + whale VFX against his charmingly wry delivery and performance, full of personality and a few brand RTBs.


Deliverables

TVCs across Linear, OTT, YouTube, and Social; Campaign Toolkit; Radio and Podcast; Social (Reddit, Meta, TikTok, Owned Channels); Influencer Content; Brand Activation; Brand Partnerships; Memes 'n GIFs. Here is a selection of my favs.

Campaign Platform

Letting NerdWallet do the work for you is genius.

We all want to feel confident that we have the best financial products in our wallets, but who among us actually want to spend all day researching? Certainly not the target audience of this campaign! That's why NerdWallet does the research for you. Whether you're shopping for car insurance, or looking for a new travel credit card, the Nerds got you covered. And if wanting to find the right financial product is smart… then having NerdWallet do the work for you is GENIUS.


Campaign Creative

Where many Super Bowl ads go big (explosions! every single celebrity!), we chose instead to tell a simple story of a man and a (genius) whale. Casting was critical, as was choosing a director and VFX/post partners who believed as we did that the comedy and memorability would be found in the juxtaposition of the National Geographic location + whale VFX against his charmingly wry delivery and performance, full of personality and a few brand RTBs.


Deliverables

TVCs across Linear, OTT, YouTube, and Social; Campaign Toolkit; Radio and Podcast; Social (Reddit, Meta, TikTok, Owned Channels); Influencer Content; Brand Activation; Brand Partnerships; Memes 'n GIFs. Here is a selection of my favs.

Impact

The campaign successfully boosted unaided and total brand awareness, usage intent, and key brand attributes among our target audience. The internet also had some nice things to say:

  • #7 most watched SB ad on YouTube

  • Today Ad Meter Top 5 for 1st time Super Bowl Advertisers

  • Top 10 Ad (Yahoo!, Vogue, Daily Mail, and Deadline)

  • ADWEEK called it "Charming…appropriately bizarre and well worth the investment"


Credits

NerdWallet Brand: Alison McCoy, Erin Albertson
NerdWallet Brand Studio: Emily Hsiao, Charlene Tsang, Christine Okazaki, Natalie Garnett, Justin Sanders, Morgan Eidson, Meghan Proulx, Katie Booker, Max Gold
Agency: Deutsch
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Tom Kuntz
DOP: Matthew Libatique
Editorial: Whitehouse Post
VFX Studio: Untold Studios
Color: CO3 NY
Sound: Lime Studios LA

a cell phone on a table
a cell phone on a table
a cell phone on a table
a cell phone on a table
a cell phone on a table
a cell phone on a table

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