Millions of Americans won't be reminded of financing a home this Super Bowl Sunday.
Industry giants Rocket Mortgage and United Wholesale Mortgage confirmed they won't be airing advertisements during the NFL's marquee event in Las Vegas Feb. 11, as they have in years past. The companies have seven Super Bowl commercial appearances between them, which typically cost millions of dollars for a 30-second ad.
"Candidly speaking, we haven't done the work to define the strategic idea for the brand and ultimately the creative idea for the brand," said Jonathan Mildenhall, Rocket's new chief marketing officer, in a recent interview with Ad Age.
Mildenhall suggested Rocket may return with a Super Bowl ad next year. The lending giant regularly employed celebrities across five spots between 2016 and 2022, and earned advertising recognitions in 2021 and 2022. Rocket is also the official mortgage partner of the NFL, a sponsorship still in place according to the Sports Business Journal.
The Detroit-based lender also ran a Super Bowl Squares sweepstakes in past years, although it hasn't yet advertised a new contest this year.
UWM, which poked fun at Rocket in one of its two Super Bowl ads in past years, did not give a reason why it's sitting out this year. Its commercials focused on the lender's FindAMortgageBroker.com website, which it recently rebranded to Mortgage Matchup.
The two leading lenders retain strong sports ties. Rocket Cos. founder Dan Gilbert owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the company retains partnerships with its hometown professional sports teams, the PGA Tour and dozens more college football and basketball programs.
UWM President and CEO Mat Ishbia meanwhile owns a majority stake with his brother in the Phoenix Suns, and the wholesale business last summer ended a name, image and likeness deal with athletes at Ishbia's alma mater Michigan State.
The parent companies of Rocket and UWM were recently downgraded by analysts. Both lenders last November predicted tepid fourth quarter earnings and have yet to schedule their next quarterly results.
Rocket's first appearance during the big game caused a stir in 2016, when its advertisement for mobile mortgage applications drew ire from viewers and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The lender following the ad replied to social media users and reminded them the loans were property underwritten, and not delivered at the touch of a button.
Advertisements for this year's broadcast on CBS cost $7 million for a 30-second spot, and the coin toss-to-end of play window was sold out in early November, according to Ad Age. It's unclear if any other mortgage player is airing a commercial, although given current industry conditions it seems unlikely. Guaranteed Rate, another top originator, also aired Super Bowl ads in 2016 and 2021.
