Codecademy’s core audience has a strong overlap with first-time homebuyers. So when the insanely expensive housing market became front-page news, we thought of a new way to relate to our potential customers: show how building a strong career can unlock financial freedom.

With a heated subject like this, we wanted to stay away from our usual light-hearted, witty humor. Instead, we flexed into a sympathetic and uplifting side of our brand, leaning on our music choice to get the tone just right. The result was an ad that made our audience feel seen — and performed well to boot.