The ad deliberately speaks to the 18- to 22-year-old audience in its writing, which Rafique said was debated quite a bit in advance. And although it feels like it was produced for “crypto natives,” he explained, younger people have embraced technology such as NFTs, and he believes they will also understand the ad.
A response to Coinbase
Rafique recalls that even on the eve of production, the script was being rewritten with a late decision made to directly respond to Coinbase’s ad, as the OKX team felt the message was “already challenging it, but we were not challenging it right. We needed to say we were challenging it.”
The Coinbase ad asks the question, “What is this archaic system?” while running through scenes of the limitations that people still face in accessing and spending their money including ATM charges and overdraft fees, while overseas transfers can still take days to complete.
“The system makes no sense!” it declares as the people in the ad grow increasingly frustrated.
However, OKX wanted to offer an alternative, future-facing outlook, Rafique explained. One where people are given autonomy and transparency as well as control over their finances.
“We believe this is the new world. This is how you rewrite the system,” he added, highlighting that it had just released its sixth proof of reserve, which no regulator of policymaker had requested, to build trust with its users.
He hopes the campaign will paint OKX as “a cool brand” with media including wild postings in New York, London and “other major markets,” as well as out-of-home and digital banners. A social media campaign will push the film and leverage brand ambassadors who will “encourage people to find their moment to rewrite the system” as well.
Rafique aims to apply “soft metrics” such as social media commentary and positive brand sentiment generated around the creative, he said. Then the company will look at whether new wallets are created, as well as the level of the value of currency deposited and kept within those wallets.
“The first piece that we’re going to be looking for is the qualitative piece, which is, ‘Are people finding this stuff cool and engaging?’”
