Cryptocurrency saw strong awareness growth in 2021, but nearly two-thirds of all Americans still didn’t understand cryptocurrency and didn’t think crypto was for “people like them.” However, 45% of the growth audience said they’d be more likely to consider crypto if someone guided them through the process. Simplifying this insight further: the best way to learn is to do. 

The Super Bowl is America’s biggest stage for advertising with 100+ million viewers tuning in. Not only that, but our research also showed that the Super Bowl reaches 70% of our bullseye Crypto Beginner audience, making it the perfect platform to introduce Coinbase and ignite mass participation.

We decided to harness the power of the largest media moment in the US in a brand-new way, leveraging simplicity, curiosity, technology and scale to fundamentally alter how advertisers will approach mass media moments henceforth.  

From there, how could we get millions of people curious about crypto to participate for the first time? Make it easy for them to try it. No dancing puppies. No talking babies. No celebrities. Just an invitation to engage. 

From this, the concept “Less Talk, More Bitcoin'' was born. Our idea centered on creating a mass participation moment to bring newcomers into the cryptoeconomy in the simplest way—by showing them that getting involved is as easy as downloading an app. 

To stay true to Coinbase’s egalitarian values and drive mass participation, we produced the antithesis to every other hyper-produced Super Bowl ad: a :60 lo-fi video featuring a large, bouncing QR code that drove to a simple landing page where customers could enter sweepstakes. This simple sweepstakes execution provided two massive incentives for customers and two equally massive opportunities for Coinbase: 

• Attract hundreds of thousands new Coinbase users by giving them $15 in Bitcoin for free 

• Encourage existing users to return to their app for the chance to win $1M in Bitcoin 

Given the unusual execution and minimalist branding of the spot, we worked closely with NBC (and even the NFL) to push the boundaries of what was legally and technically possible to air. Coinbase challenged the status quo creatively and redefined how the Super Bowl works with their partners. We argue that this was the single most effective media execution of all time. 

The execution shattered expectations with staggering lifts in brand consideration, participation and revenue. 

In just one sixty second ad with other supporting media: 

• 20MM+ instant landing page hits 

• 1.4MM existing users opted into the sweepstakes 

• 14 billion+ earned media impressions 

• Est. $130MM earned media value 

• Brand lift against our target audience: 

• +38pt brand consideration lift / 3x increase 

• +30pt brand favorability lift / 2x increase 

• +24pt next choice / 3x increase 

• +34pt brand recommendation / 2x increase 

Even with a multi-step sign-up process that required customers to enter private information like ID and SSN after engaging with the QR code, Coinbase received a whopping 445K+ attributed new account sign-ups. Again, in just :60s. The 1-year ROI was positive within weeks of airing.