While many who saw the Super Bowl commercial will recognize Dan Levy, some may not know who Heidi Gardner, the Homes.com actress is. Super Bowl LVIII took place on February 11, 2024, between the San Franciso 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Chiefs winning their third Super Bowl and taking over the NFL conversation now that Tom Brady and the Patriots saga has ended. Some people won’t care at all about any of that, however, and are only interested in the Super Bowl LVIII commercials.
That’s well enough, as Super Bowls often produce some incredible commercials. Generally, big-name brands take the coveted and expensive ad spaces, but smaller companies make some noise as well. Homes.com was one of these smaller brands and made a massive purchase of three 30-second ads during the game. The commercials feature Dan Levy and Heidi Gardner explaining how the real estate search site, Homes.com, works, alongside other celebrities and expensive-looking CGI and stunts involving a massive champagne bottle and low-flying helicopters. Schitt’s Creek fans will know Dan Levy, but Heidi Gardner may not be as instantly recognizable.
Heidi Gardner is best known for being a part of the SNL cast in season 49, first appearing on the sketch comedy show in its 43rd season in 2017. A frequent presence in sketches, Gardner has a few recurring characters, including Bailey Gismert, a teen film critic; Brie Bacardi, one half of a shallow social media couple; Sandy, the only talented cook on a reality baking TV show; and Angel (Every Boxer’s Girlfriend from Every Movie About Boxing Ever), to name a few.
SNL was Gardner’s breakthrough and throughout her early years on the show, she only appeared in a few other smaller roles, such as Amanda White on an episode of Veep, Colleen on an episode of Superstore, and Leonor in Life of the Party. Years into her tenure at SNL, Gardner has been able to balance her commitments to the NBC show with larger parts in other productions, like playing the recurring character Grace in Shrinking and having a significant supporting role in Adam Sandler’s Hustle as Kat Merrick.
Heidi Gardner’s appearance in the Home.com Super Bowl commercials was also a personal point of pride, considering Gardner was born in Kansas City, Missouri, home of the Kansas City Chiefs (via NBC). Born on July 27, 1983, Gardner has a lot of Kansas City pride, enrolling at the University of Kansas and later the University of Missouri (via In). She’s even participated in fundraiser events for the Kansas City Royals with celebrities like Jason Sudeikis, Paul Rudd, and Rob Riggle (via VisitKC). The Homes.com campaign must have made Super Bowl LVIII particularly enjoyable for Gardner.
Though Levy and Gardner starred in the Homes.com commercials, there were other celebrities involved as well. Rapper Lil Wayne appears as a “local school expert” to the tune of “A Milli” to ask the class about “Meatloaf Mondays” and Jeff Goldblum is the only ad exec to appreciate the duo’s destructive presentation. Both the iconic celebs get a funny line and laugh, and Gardner and Levy play off them expertly.