Cannes Lions x7

#1 US Hip Hop Video

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Grammy-winning rap mogul 2 Chainz stars in first expensable music video

On January 24, 2019, rap star and big spender 2 Chainz dropped a music video for his new single, “Expensify Th!$” featuring gold toilets, actor Adam Scott and a $200k ice-sculpted Lamborghini. Using the Expensify app, viewers could “expense” every item in the video for a total of $500k in real cash.

For the first time in history, people can expense a music video.

— Washington Post
Expensify Th!$ - Music video

Within days of its release, “Expensify Th!$” became the #1 trending hip-hop track and #3 video in the U.S. on YouTube’s Vevo, racking up over 12 million views. 

The partnership of the year.

— Forbes
This was some seriously masterminded shit, climaxing at the Super Bowl in Atlanta

A writers’ room comprised of 2 Chainz and Emmy-winning writers from Saturday Night Live was created to write the lyrics for a hit track about spending money on outrageously flashy items while integrating Expensify. Hit music producer Mustard laid down the beats that helped make the track a #1 hip-hop song in the US.

Expensify Th!$ - Case Study

“Expensify Th!$” was timed with the launch of 2 Chainz’s new album to leverage the surrounding hype, and then premiered as a Big Game commercial during the Super Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia, the rapper’s home state. 

Expensify made the entertainment itself an elaborate product demo.

— Fast Company
Expensify Th!$ - Super Bowl Commercial

People could expense items from the music video across all media, including in iconic Times Square. Using the Expensify app, users simply snapped a photo of the receipts and got reimbursed actual cash. Just like the app works in real life.

For the first time ever, the world got hyped about doing expenses

“Expensify Th!$” became the most elaborate product demo in history. The groundbreaking combination of entertainment, music and technology proved the game-changing Expensify technology.

  • All ads were expensable
  • All ads were expensable
  • All ads were expensable
  • All ads were expensable
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Next
A celebrity endorsement touchdown.
— CNN
Not only hilarious but also super smart.
— GQ
  • 1,400% increase in new customers
  • 12 million + views for “Expensify Thi!$” music video
  • 634% increase in web traffic
  • 102,000 items expensed in 10 days
  • #1 App Store ranking for business apps
  • 500+ media outlets globally
Client
Expensify
Output
  • 4Cs Research
  • Brand Strategy
  • Brand Book and Identity
  • Global Creative Platform
  • Super Bowl Campaign
  • Talent Management and Contracts
  • Film, Digital and Print Production
  • Communications Planning
  • Media Planning
  • Public Relations