What if the background character in a video game suddenly refused to follow the script?
That’s the premise behind cryptocurrency platform Coinbase’s new campaign, “Your Way Out,” which encourages people to break away from the financial systems they’ve always known.
Created by Isle of Any and directed by Oscar Hudson through MJZ, the spot will air during the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday (March 15).
Set inside a video game world, a non-playable character (NPC) goes about his pre-programmed life until he decides to take control and break free. In a dramatic sequence, he makes a daring escape and eventually arrives in a new world populated by real humans.
The ad closes with a tagline that sums up Coinbase’s message: “Your way out of the system.”
It marks a sharp shift from the brand’s unconventional Super Bowl work. Last month during Super Bowl 60, Coinbase aired “Everybody Coinbase,” turning living rooms across America into karaoke sessions set to the Backstreet Boys’ hit “Everybody.”
Two years earlier, during Super Bowl 56, the brand simply ran a bouncing QR code that resembled an old screensaver. The ad baffled and intrigued viewers. About 20 million people scanned the code, crashing the landing page within minutes.
“The Super Bowl was our chance to bring people together and play a game with 136 million people where we got to say, ‘we’re in this together,’” Joe Staples, vp creative at Coinbase, told ADWEEK. “At the Oscars, the take is that we’re all in this thing and maybe it’s not serving us as well as it could.”
The spot will continue airing throughout 2026, including during the NBA Playoffs.
Different vibe, same theme
Despite the creative shift between “Everybody Coinbase” and “Your Way Out,” which are airing just 35 days apart, Staples sees them as connected. Both are rooted in the idea that people often interact with the world by default. Coinbase hopes to spark a different way of thinking, especially when it comes to financial freedom.
