Coinbase Challenges Traditional Finance with $15 Million Crypto Ad Campaign

Coinbase is launching a $15 million television campaign to promote the advantages of cryptocurrency payments, according to Fox Business.

The company plans to air three commercials across four networks during the NBA playoffs.

The campaign aims to highlight the complexity and cost of traditional financial (TradFi) payment methods compared to cryptocurrencies, which allow for near-instant transactions by eliminating intermediaries like banks and service providers, among other benefits.

“We are under the illusion that when we use credit cards or Venmo, everything happens instantly. In reality, they are just part of a very complex wiring system disguised by a digital interface,” said Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad.

The company announced the promotional campaign back in mid-April. Coinbase has uploaded the commercials to YouTube.

Food for thought:
What if money was designed to get you more over time, not less?#Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/z8eHF8JltQ

— Coinbase ?️ (@coinbase) April 15, 2024

The first video depicts the process of ordering, making, and delivering a pizza as if it were akin to the movement of funds in TradFi. At each stage, various services take their cut.

“This isn’t about pizza, it’s about money. This happens every time you spend or transfer it. We offer a better system: no middlemen, no fees. That’s how cryptocurrency works,” says the courier at the end.

The second commercial highlights the rising value of digital gold, comparing how much pizza could be bought with 1 BTC in 2021 and 2024. The video also notes that the supply of new coins is constantly decreasing due to halvings.

Fox Business did not describe the plot of the third television commercial. However, a similar video on Coinbase’s channel features a penny expressing its sense of uselessness. It gets lost, forgotten as change, accidentally thrown away, or used improperly.

“Please digitize me so I can feel relevant,” says the animated coin.

The screen concludes with the message: “money is happier when it’s digital.”

Back in February 2022, crypto companies showcased a record number of ads during the Super Bowl. Coinbase spent $14 million on a 60-second commercial featuring a QR code.

This year, no major industry player submitted an application for video promotion during the largest sporting event in the United States.