Automated ReaderNovember 20, 2024Last Updated: November 20, 2024
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Interest in cryptocurrency is surging once again, but it’s still hardly mainstream—something Coinbase is working to change. Its latest effort in this regard is a new ad campaign, created in-house, that aims to normalize crypto in everyday financial use cases. Ivan Zachariáš of Smuggler directed three spots featuring everyday moments of sending money, grouped under the theme “Crypto isn’t for you. Until it is.” The first spot shows how easy it is to buy an automobile with crypto, particularly over a weekend when banks are closed. Another shows how crypto can cut down on credit card transaction fees for small businesses. The third highlights how fast people can send money across borders in a pinch. “Many people are really interested in [crypto], but they don’t really think it’s for them,” Michael Tabtabai, VP of creative at Coinbase, told Ad Age in an interview. “People just don’t know where to start or realize there are other use cases beyond investments. With this work, we wanted to highlight some of the simple, modern, everyday challenges people are navigating in the traditional financial system as they go about their daily lives.” The three highlighted use cases were among the most relatable as Coinbase developed scripts for the campaign. “They can happen anywhere in the country. They can happen in any age range. It’s something people can wrap their head around,” said Tabtabai. “These situations are also where the technology behind crypto can update the financial system and really move things forward.” Also read: Coinbase says young people’s gloomy future is fixable in stark ads directed by Mike Mills Coinbase has been doing standout creative work for years, from the famous bouncing QR code on the Super Bowl to ads on Liquid Death packaging to last year’s striking spots directed by Mike Mills about young people’s bleak view of legacy institutions. Tabtabai said the idea is to leverage creativity in any form to make Coinbase’s budgets—which are smaller than ma
