PenFed to Air Super Bowl Ad, Part of New Marketing Campaign

PenFed Credit Union will be airing a 30-second ad in the Washington, D.C., area during the Super Bowl.

The ad is one of a series of spots that highlight PenFed’s open membership. The credit union, based in Tysons, Va., in the Washington, D.C. metro area, is now the nation’s third-largest with $32.5 billion in assets and 2.6 million members as of Dec. 31.

In the ad, a man and a woman, both civilians, are climbing a rock face. The man mentions he’s a member of PenFed.

The woman says, “I wish I could join, but I’m not in the military.”

A woman wearing an Army uniform rappels down the face and stops beside her.

“You don’t have to be in the military to join PenFed,” the soldier says.

A news release Friday from PenFed said the ad’s airing on Sunday will mark the launch of an integrated marketing campaign focusing on its membership being open to both military members and civilians. The campaign features digital and high-reach television media.

PenFed became one of only three credit unions to be open to anyone in the United States through its January 2019 acquisition of financially troubled Progressive Credit Union of New York.

“For 87 years we have been serving the military with some of the nation’s best rates, and now everyone has the opportunity to save money with PenFed,” PenFed Chief Marketing Officer Gaurav Bhatia said. “Through this campaign we continue to make that takeaway perfectly clear – our rates are for everyone – military and non-military.”

The ads will air widely in the Washington D.C. area during primetime sports coverage including professional basketball, hockey, baseball, college basketball and local news. Media will also air nationally through digital video and streaming channels.

The campaign is a continuation of its “PenFed Saves You Money” campaign launched in 2020 that PenFed said has helped draw more than 500,000 additional members over the past two years.

NBC will broadcast the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals in Inglewood, Calif., starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.

PenFed won’t be alone. Unify Financial Credit Union of Allen, Texas ($3.6 billion in assets, 268,088 members) is also airing an ad during the game.