COINBASE | Less Talk, More Bitcoin | 2022
20 Million Visits in One Minute, Then the Site Crashed / COINBASE "Less Talk, More Bitcoin"
Just a QR code bouncing around the screen, for 60 seconds. No celebrities, no narration, no product explanation. At the Super Bowl, the pinnacle of advertising, Coinbase chose to do "nothing."
The problem
At the time, cryptocurrency still felt distant to many Americans. Coinbase already had 73 million users, but wanting to welcome the next billion, it chose the Super Bowl, America's biggest advertising stage.
The insight
The best way to learn about cryptocurrency was to actually try it. So there was no need to explain it—just get people to participate. No dancing puppies, no celebrities needed. Action over talk.
The idea
The ad was nothing but a QR code bouncing from wall to wall like a DVD screensaver—it didn't even have a brand logo. Scan it and you'd get $15 worth of bitcoin, that was the whole 60 seconds. Coinbase negotiated with both NBC and the NFL to push this unusual approach through.
What happened
During the broadcast, it drew 20 million visits and generated 445,000 new sign-ups. The site crashed, and the app climbed to No. 2 on the App Store. At the 2022 Cannes Lions, it won the Grand Prix in Direct Lions.
Afterthought
Even the site crashing became proof of success. At the pinnacle of advertising, an ad that was "too popular and broke the internet" threw out everything that makes an ad look like an ad. Don't talk, just do it. I think so too.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2022
