In this article:
- Rocket Mortgage was the highest-ranking Super Bowl ad on USA Today’s Ad Meter.
- The ad poked fun at about Barbie’s Dream House and the housing market.
- This is the second straight year Rocket Mortgage led the list.
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Rocket Mortgage released a Super Bowl ad poking fun at the housing market, which is currently almost as contentious as a football game.
The 60-second ad was this year’s winner as measured by USA Today’s Ad Meter by scoring a 6.8. The commercial featured a celebrity appearance by actress Anna Kendrick, an appeal to childhood nostalgia, and a commentary on the current housing market.
Rocket Mortgage partnered with Mattel, the company behind the Barbie brand. In the ad, Anna Kendrick discusses the sale of Barbie’s Dreamhouse. The Dreamhouse, which has been around since the 1960s, has had several different iterations. In the Super Bowl spot, Kendrick jokes that Barbie found the home with “stunning views and a slide” on Rocket Homes. Barbie then finds herself in “a bidding war,” with other buyers, such as “Better Offer Betty,” “Cash Offer Carl,” and “House Flipper Skipper.”
With bright graphics and jingles, Rocket Mortgage’s ad mimicked commercials more often associated with toys. But it also played with something likely at the forefront of many viewers’ minds: homebuying. Housing prices, and competition for houses, has spiked during the pandemic. The median price of a home in the U.S. hit a record high of $362,800 in June 2021. And in January 2022, the median home price is still 15.4% higher than it was a year ago.
The partnership between Rocket Mortgage, Anna Kendrick, and Mattel also helped the ad succeed. Kendrick, Mattel, and “Barbie” all tweeted from their respective accounts, directing followers to vote for the ad on USA Today’s Ad Meter. Rocket Mortgage was followed by Amazon, Doritos, Cheetos Flamin’ Hot, Kia, and Toyota in the ranking.
This year marked the second consecutive time Rocket Mortgage reached the top spot, scoring a 6.2 in 2020. Last year’s spot pushed the line “certain is better,” and included actor Tracy Morgan and football player Joey Bosa. Rocket Mortgage is the first company to have consecutive wins since Budweiser topped the list three times between 2013 and 2015.