Robinhood, the trading app at the center of the stock market frenzy around GameStop, will air its first Super Bowl commercial, even as it deals with the fallout surrounding the controversy.
The company will use the Big Game to lean into its mission of democratizing trading, even as that is being called into question. Robinhood was criticized for halting trading of GameStop and other stocks that saw meteoric rises last week and is now facing dozens of lawsuits as a result.
Of course, Robinhood’s decision to air a Super Bowl commercial came before last week’s dustup. Christina Smedley, chief marketing officer, says when she joined the company five months ago it was clear there was a transformational moment happening in technology, finance, and the democracy of the two, that’s accelerated amid the pandemic.
While the company debated pulling out of the game, it ultimately decided to move forward in an effort to educate consumers, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Robinhood has had more than 600,000 app downloads as of last week, according to JMP Securities.