Super Bowl 2025
Letting NerdWallet do the work for you is genius
For our very first foray into the world of Super Bowl ads, we brought a brand new mascot to life: A brainy beluga whale, here to tell you all about how using NerdWallet is more than smart — it’s genius.
This whale was witty, he was bulbous, and most importantly, he was voiced by Kieran Culkin. (!)
I was responsible for taking the heart, humor and whimsy of our Super Bowl spot and translating it into paid social ads that pushed us past brand awareness and into real-life conversions ($$). TL;DR: make it functional, but don’t lose the fun.
Whale, whale, whale
With the introduction of our blubbery friend, we had one main rule around how to use him in lower-funnel assets.
Keep it first person POV
The whale is not the “we” of NerdWallet, not an integrated part of the brand. He’s a third-party endorser, splashing onto the scene to impart his wisdom and point us humble humans in the right direction (our Nerds).
Don’t go anywhere, you Nerds
We had a cool new whale to take for a spin in the social ad space — but we didn’t want to lose sight of our Nerds, either. They were the backbone of everything we did, a representation of all the expertise our countless team members brought to the table. So half of our ads included them, as well.
Podcast Script
We shook off conventional podcast reads and leaned into our whimsical new mascot to create a loose script for podcast hosts to have fun with.
Whale Translation Script (host read for a comedian podcast)
Listeners, you know I’m a genius — obviously. And I have something genius to share from our sponsor, NerdWallet. Take a listen.
SFX: Whale sounds
You might be wondering — what is this? And maybe more importantly, how can it help me find a better credit card? This is a beluga whale. They have the IQ of a human genius. And this one knows where you can get a credit card with all the perks and points you need. Let me translate real quick. Yes, I know whale.
Ready? It says “Ahoy land-dwellers. As a whale, I have no need for financial products. But you do, and you should turn to the Nerds at NerdWallet. They’ve done the work for you, so you don’t have to lift a flipper — I mean, flipper — to get matched with the right credit card in minutes.
You heard the whale! So take those opposable thumbs and go to nerdwallet. com to find your card today. Because using NerdWallet is genius. Like this whale— and me.