Coding platform Codecademy's first TV commercial addresses career choices at a time when the tech industry is dealing with massive layoffs. 

“Maybe if you could do anything, you’d learn something new: start a career you actually love or build something meaningful,” says the narrator in the ad, breaking today.

The “If you could do anything” ad shows how tech can open up more opportunities for people looking to start on a new career path or to grow in their existing industry. The creative also banks on the ability to use Codecademy wherever one is, showing people including a stay-at-home dad, a traveling couple and a chef.

Codecademy, which offers interactive classes on 14 different languages like Python, Java, and HTML, has amassed over 40 million users since its inception in 2011.

Despite the platform’s specialization, the commercial showcases little coding.

“We're trying to contextualize the tech landscape for folks and have it be a consideration as they're contemplating their career and a lot of people are doing it because they're proactive and a lot of people are doing it because they're reactive,” said Robin Zucker, Codecademy's chief marketing officer. 

The creative was developed largely in-house, with Stept producing, Michael Parenteau directing and Lockt handling post-production.

The tech industry has experienced massive layoffs this year, including at major companies such as Amazon, Meta and Microsoft. Despite the layoffs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that from 2021 to 2031, employment of software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers will grow 25%, much faster than the average for all occupations.

“I think as people look at a dynamic workplace, there's an opportunity for them to continue to better themselves, just like what I think happened when we saw the uptick with the pandemic where people were looking at: ‘how do I continue to refine my skills so that I have job security? How do I continue to create new skills, so there's new opportunities?’” said Zucker.

The new TV spot, which will also run on YouTube, builds on Codecademy’s “Live By Your Own Code” campaign, which debuted in 2021 and included TikTok and out-of-home ads.

Earlier this year, the platform was acquired by Skillsoft, a corporate learning company.