When it comes to the Banking & Finance category during the NFL season, there are two consistent paths to success: ads encouraging financial empowerment or famous actors endorsing credit cards.
The category had another strong year with football fans, with ads that were 27% more effective than the category’s average across all broadcast and cable TV, based on each ad’s ability to drive brand searches and website visits. Banking & Finance fared even better during the postseason, outperforming the category average by 47%, according to EDO’s 2024-25 NFL TV Outcomes Report.
Here’s what else stood out in the world of NFL financial services advertising during the 2024-25 season.
SoFi has had the naming rights to the most expensive stadium in the world since 2020, home to the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. And this year, the brand climbed six spots from the 2023-24 season to become the NFL’s most effective Banking & Finance advertiser. Its success was driven by a campaign starring Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and the importance of building financial security.
Intuit nabbed two places in the top 10, with its TurboTax brand coming in at No. 2 and its Quickbooks brand rising four places to No. 10. American Express jumped one spot to No. 4, based on the success of its campaign showcasing NFL gameday benefits for Platinum cardholders.
Capital One proved you can get good mileage out of running a popular ad long after its initial airing. The brand’s “Holiday Night Fever,” starring John Travolta as Santa Claus, took the category’s most effective creative spot for the second year in a row. This year, it was 354% more effective than the average Banking & Finance ad during the regular season, compared to 598% last year.
Elsewhere, Will Ferrell starred in PayPal’s 30-second “Pay Everywhere” spot (+300%), which helped boost PayPal to the third most effective brand in the category. Other winners include Chime’s “Any Day Can Be Payday” (+267%) and TurboTax’s “Tax Break Up” (+151%), featuring actor Adam DeVine.
The top performing SoFi ad showcased its spokesman QB, with the 30-second “Generational Support” coming in at number four (+147%).
If you’re inspiring viewers to take their financial lives into their own hands — or just inspiring them to take your latest over-the-top pizza into those hands — the NFL season is your opportunity to engage TV’s biggest audiences.
With another NFL season just on the horizon, download the free 2024-25 NFL TV Outcomes Report and get ready to edge out the competition in your industry.