As consumers deal with inflation and tighter budgets, discussing finances can feel grim. Financial tech company Chime aimed to flip the script in a purpose-led campaign that tested the generosity of people struggling to achieve their financial goals.

The “$1 Million Bet” campaign was inspired by two statistics: that charitable giving had declined in both 2022 and 2023, and that 65% of Americans were living paycheck-to-paycheck at the time (some surveys have put the number even higher).

Chime also conducted a poll that found nearly half of Americans found the U.S. was ungenerous. It used the campaign to kick off a new brand mission of “uniting everyday people to unlock their financial progress,” said Alivia Birdwell, director of integrated marketing at Chime.

Chime selected 10 participants facing setbacks in their journey to achieve financial goals and offered to pay twice the desired sum for half of them. The climax of the experiment was whether or not the participants would choose to split their payments with the other half of the group to unknowingly unlock a $1 million prize.

The campaign’s happy ending, facilitated by game show host Wayne Brady, may seem cheesy. But it outperformed all previous Chime activations, surpassing 368 million impressions within days of its launch and boosting its brand rank 15% for consumer sentiment that it cares about its customers compared to the year prior, according to the company.

Chime’s purpose-led marketing “is not just about providing people with funds, but also education,” said Birdwell. “Education is so critical in making sure that people have the tools and information that they need to start making those steps towards their goals and ambitions.”

The campaign, made in partnership with agency AKQA, was posted across Chime’s YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The brand also released short social videos from Tiffany Aliche, known as the “Budgetnista,” offering financial advice.