If pizza worked like money, you’d lose your appetite.

So says Coinbase with its latest commercial, which frames the dysfunction of the financial system in a way people can understand—by showing what it would be like if ordering a pizza worked the same way.

The spot was made in-house and directed by Sam Brown at Imperial Woodpecker. The production design is impressive, and the ad moves at a breakneck speed, mirroring the company’s messaging about how crypto moves money forward.

The campaign is backed by a $15 million media buy. The spot will air on TNT, ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC (37 airings total), with a focus on NBA Playoffs. 

“Crypto is a solve for Americans who are fed up with the middlemen taking a bite every time they order and pay for pizza,” Jesse Pollak, Coinbase VP of engineering and creator of Base, told Ad Age. “Coinbase is building the future of money to make sure American consumers own their own pie—and making sure their payment moves at the speed of the internet.”

Pollak pointed to the use case of a Girl Scout troop taking onchain payments in USDC using Coinbase Wallet as the future of financial transactions.

A Girl Scout troop took onchain payments at @EthereumDenver using a checkout experience from @CoinbaseWallet and @slice__so

Tagalongs, paid for with USDC pic.twitter.com/IJnLzNJQOX

— Base 🛡️ (@base) March 29, 2024

“They made a killing because it was cheaper and faster,” Pollak said. “The world is quickly learning—crypto is the future of money, and it’s already here.”

The new campaign follows other recent creative efforts from Coinbase, including winning the auction for ad space on Liquid Death boxes, as well as this stylishly gloomy campaign directed by Mike Mills.