Ash Wednesday is fast approaching, ringing in the season of Lent a little earlier than usual. This year, Ash Wednesday falls on February 14, coinciding with Valentine’s Day, but also sharing a week with Super Bowl Sunday for the first time since 2008. This has created a unique opportunity for religious advertising that would reach millions of viewers around the world, and the world’s #1 prayer app is not passing it up.
Hallow, the popular prayer app that has been used as a prayer resource over 10 million times in the US alone, will be running a commercial during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11. The 30-second commercial will reportedly feature both Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg and The Chosen’s Jonathan Roumie, who can be seen in a teaser for the ad, below.
While we don’t know exactly what will happen in the commercial, previous commercials from Hallow have maintained a reverent tone, even while injecting a little wholesome, light-hearted comedy into the narrative. In the teaser, Wahlberg’s voice narrates with a short prayer:
“God, we take this moment just to give You thanks,” Wahlberg says as he crossed himself with holy water.
Wahlberg and Roumie are two natural choices to star in a commercial for Hallow, not just for their Catholic faith, but also because they will help lead Hallow’s annual “Prayer40” challenge. The challenge, beginning on Ash Wednesday, keeps Hallow’s users praying throughout the 40 days of Lent, guiding them with prayer resources and reflections, all while keeping them on track with notifications and reminders.
Throughout the “Prayer40” challenge, Wahlberg will lead Hallow users on challenges related to fasting and discipline, as well as sharing motivation found in Scripture to keep us going through the weeks of Lent. Meanwhile, Roumie will lead users through reflections on what it means to completely surrender our lives to God.
These two prominent lay Catholics will be joined for the “Prayer40” challenge by several big names in the religious world, including Fr. Mike Schmitz of Ascension’s Bible in a Year; Sr. Miriam James, S.O.L.T., and Sr. Mary Bernice of the Missionaries of Charity.
Alex Jones, Hallow’s co-founder and CEO, expressed his excitement to be featuring two incredibly well known actors in a commercial bound for Super Bowl Sunday:
“The goal at Hallow has always been to reach out to as many folks as possible, both those who take their faith seriously and especially those who might have fallen away, and invite them deeper into a relationship with God. When we learned about the timing of the Big Game this year, we couldn’t have been more excited to work with Mark and Jonathan to use it as an opportunity to invite millions into prayer.”
Look for Hallow’s commercial to air during Super Bowl LVIII, and get ready for the “Prayer40” challenge on Hallow, beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
Find Hallow on the App Store or Google Play and see what makes it the #1 prayer app today.
