Real estate giant Redfin, alongside parent company Rocket Companies, has announced an ambitious nationwide campaign, "The Great American Home Search," offering consumers a chance to win a home valued at over $1 million. This significant activation is set to kick off immediately after their highly anticipated Super Bowl ad airs, leveraging the immense viewership of the championship game. The contest is intricately linked to the Super Bowl commercial, which the brands teased last week. The spot features a unique rendition of "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?" — the iconic theme song from "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood" — performed by Lady Gaga. The ad itself tells a poignant story of individuals discovering community through acts of neighborliness. Jonathan Mildenhall, CMO of Rocket Companies, emphasized the strategic importance of such a large-scale activation. "Brands that just give a narrative at Super Bowl, but don’t actually activate, don’t actually see as much of a financial return as those brands that have a massive activation," Mildenhall stated. He added, "In the context of being neighborly, and the context of Redfin’s inventory, we decided that we would do something that has never been done before." This year's approach follows Rocket’s successful "Own The Dream" Super Bowl ad from the previous year, which culminated in an in-stadium singalong to John Denver’s "Take Me Home, Country Roads." That campaign garnered nearly 250 million social media views and earned a Cannes Gold Lion in 2025. Consumers can participate in this groundbreaking home search through an exclusive scavenger hunt within the Redfin app. Over 48 hours following the Super Bowl ad, Redfin will release six app-exclusive prompts. Developed in partnership with geoguessing creator Trevor Rainbolt, the hunt challenges participants to utilize Redfin’s advanced search tools and filters. The first eligible participant to correctly identify the home will be declared the winner. Mildenhall explained the dual purpose of the hunt: "Each clue takes you deeper and deeper into Redfin’s products, so that the players can understand Redfin’s product superiority over our competition." He also noted the social media component, stating, "Then we will be fueling social media with what it takes in America today to be neighborly, and neighborly ‘hacks’ so that you can break the ice and knock next door." The ultimate prize home is located in "one of America’s most celebrated neighborly neighborhoods."

Super Bowl-Sized Strategy for Growth

The ambitious Super Bowl campaign by Rocket and Redfin aligns with their plans for significant growth. Following the 2025 acquisitions of both Redfin and mortgage servicer Mr. Cooper, Rocket now handles one in six American mortgages. The company’s primary goal is to establish Redfin as the leading home search platform in the U.S., supported by its network of 2,500 real estate agents. Mildenhall expressed enthusiasm for this expanded vision: "As we started to really understand the insights from the Redfin real estate agents, I got very excited that we could move from just broadening the aperture of the Rocket brand to actually standing for something and standing up for something." These insights led Rocket and Redfin to address a critical societal issue: the erosion of trust within American neighborhoods. Mildenhall cited a Pew study revealing that only 26% of Americans know their next-door neighbor by name, a decline exacerbated by the pandemic. This focus on community inspired the collaboration with Fred Rogers Productions to license "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?" for commercial use in the U.S. for the first time. Mildenhall emphasized the forward-looking nature of the campaign: "When we had that asset, we were like, ‘Okay, we don’t want to be nostalgic and backward-looking. We need to project this into the future.’" He added, "Working with Lady Gaga was our No. 1 choice, so we now have this beautiful vocal rallying cry to really wake America up and to get America to think about what it means to be neighborly at a civic level." The new rendition of the classic theme song serves as the soundtrack for an ad created with agency Mirimar. The commercial depicts two families moving into new homes for different reasons: a white family navigating divorce and a young girl moving with her mother to a new neighborhood, and a Hispanic family with a girl of the same age moving to a larger house due to the birth of a new baby. Mildenhall highlighted the ad’s emotional core: "The Super Bowl ad itself shows these two girls moving into a neighborhood. They’re strangers, and they become friends. It’s really powerful, authentic storytelling." Rocket’s decision to center its campaign on neighborhood trust and cross-cultural connection comes at a time when communities, such as those in Minneapolis, are actively pushing back against increased immigration crackdowns and violence. However, the company views this purpose-driven initiative as transcending political divides. Mildenhall affirmed this stance: "It doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you’re on, which political party you vote for. The erosion of trust in the American neighborhood is universal. The feeling of loneliness and isolation is universal, and the need for connection and community is universal. None of it is political — it’s very civic — and the ambition that Rocket and Redfin have is to make America feel more connected."