Building Opportunity: Transforming Lives Through Education | Clapboard Ad Archive

Building Opportunity: Vital & Chris

Description

Building Opportunity: Vital & Chris is a powerful digital and film campaign created for Udemy, released in October 2023 across Rwanda and the United States, aiming to spotlight the transformative power of education through a deeply human story. Developed in collaboration with Strike Anywhere, an independent film company known for its emotive and compelling storytelling, the campaign centers on two key figures: Chris Haroun, a Udemy instructor who left a lucrative venture capital career to teach, and Vital Nsengiyumva, a learner from the village of Magu, Rwanda, who became an instructor himself. Directed by Akil Gibbons, whose previous work with brands like Mastercard and Vice has been widely acclaimed, the campaign brings to life the instructor-learner dynamic through a short documentary-style film that intimately captures their journey. Shot on location in Magu, the film not only portrays Vital’s personal story—overcoming barriers rooted in Rwanda’s complex history including the genocide of the 1990s—but also reveals the tangible impact of education as Vital and Chris come together to open the first learning center in the village, a school built through the proceeds of Vital’s Udemy courses. This authentic narrative is enriched by moments of cultural connection, such as a shared meal at Vital’s mother’s house, symbolizing hope and community. Reflecting Udemy’s commitment to democratizing access to skills and learning, the campaign highlights education as a fundamental human right that drives equality, social mobility, and economic development. Through this partnership, Strike Anywhere and Udemy fuse the strengths of creative storytelling and brand purpose to inspire audiences by showcasing the real-life ripple effects of knowledge and opportunity. With its global scope and emotional resonance, Building Opportunity: Vital & Chris successfully elevates Udemy’s brand as a catalyst for meaningful change through education.

Credits

Client

Udemy

Executive Creative Director

Ryan Simon

Director

Akil Gibbons

Producer

Jon Gaynes

Cinematographer

Xavi Portillo

Editor (rwanda)

Ian Alexander Levine

Editor (toronto)

Peter Leininger

More like this

Search Responsibly - Free Radicals | Clapboard Ad Archive

Free Radicals’ 2018 Search Responsibly campaign, crafted by multicultural agency alma, confronts the insidious problem of online radicalization by transforming the internet search bar into a potent symbol of vulnerability and confession, an approach that sits squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem. Recognizing that extremist groups exploit the anonymity and curiosity of internet users to funnel at-risk individuals into propaganda and conspiracy-laden echo chambers, the campaign leverages paid search technology to intercept these dangerous journeys before they escalate. By positioning search queries as a modern-day confessional where users expose their deepest fears and doubts, the campaign reframes digital behavior to highlight the stakes of seemingly innocuous online actions. alma’s collaboration with former neo-Nazi Christian Picciolini adds authentic gravitas to the message, underscoring the real-world consequences of unchecked internet searches and the pathway from curiosity to recruitment. The campaign’s digital execution harnesses technology not to shame or police but to offer an alternative: a lifeline to help and support before users spiral into extremist content. This subtle yet urgent call to action refrains from graphic or direct depictions of hate, instead relying on the power of symbolic representation to engage audiences at a psychological level. Within the internet and technology market category, Search Responsibly confronts a complex social issue by embedding itself within the very infrastructure that extremists exploit, effectively turning a tool of harm into a beacon of prevention. The campaign earns 63/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. Search Responsibly matters because it demonstrates how digital platforms and advertising can collaboratively intervene in the early stages of radicalization, signaling a shift toward socially responsible innovation in internet-based communication.

Campaign Proposition

The “Building Opportunity: Vital & Chris” campaign by Udemy centers on the transformative power of accessible education and skills development as fundamental drivers of social mobility and economic progress. By showcasing the real-life relationship between instructor Chris Haroun and learner-turned-instructor Vital Nsengiyumva, the campaign underscores Udemy’s promise to democratize learning globally, emphasizing how education can catalyze change beyond individual advancement to impact entire communities. The narrative highlights the platform’s ability to empower learners from underserved regions, illustrating the tangible outcomes of skill acquisition—such as building the first learning center in Magu, Rwanda—thereby reinforcing Udemy’s value proposition as a gateway to opportunity. Strategically, the campaign employs a documentary-style, human-centered storytelling approach that appeals to audiences seeking authentic, socially meaningful content. By focusing on a compelling instructor-learner dynamic rooted in overcoming historical and infrastructural educational barriers, the campaign taps into deep cultural and emotional insights around education’s role in healing and rebuilding communities. The cross-market placement in both Rwanda and the United States broadens relevance, positioning Udemy as a global connector that bridges disparate geographies through shared aspirations for knowledge and empowerment. Collaborating with Strike Anywhere and director Akil Gibbons lends creative credibility and nuance, leveraging award-winning filmmaking known for resonant social narratives. This blend of authenticity, global scope, and emotional resonance fosters a meaningful connection with viewers who value both education and its potential to drive systemic change.

Creative Device

FORMAT#5 EXEMPLARY STORY — Tells a story where the product plays a vital role in the plot or resolution. “Building Opportunity: Vital & Chris” follows a classic Exemplary Story format, portraying a narrative arc in which Udemy’s platform is the decisive vehicle for personal and communal transformation. The documentary intimately charts Vital’s journey from learner to instructor, culminating in the building of a local school—a development only possible due to Udemy’s offerings. The platform’s role is woven centrally: lives change because learning is democratized, and the product directly enables both the story’s emotional resolution and tangible outcomes. ADVERTISING FORMATS EXPLAINED: https://www.clapboard.com/blog/branding-and-advertising/brand-strategy/12-advertising-creative-formats

Pools to Paris - HTH pool care, MatchKit.co | Clapboard Ad Archive

Pools to Paris is HTH pool care’s ambitious athlete-led campaign for 2023, conceived in partnership with MatchKit.co and executed by agency duo Retroviral and Retroactive, firmly embedding the brand within the high-performance world of elite swimming through the ongoing Olympic journey of South Africa’s Kaylene Corbett. Anchored in a format Clapboard classifies as FORMAT#8—Ongoing Characters or Celebrities, the campaign positions Corbett, a decorated Olympic finalist and Commonwealth Games medalist, as both protagonist and proof of the brand’s indispensability, drawing a direct line from her relentless 22-hour training weeks and academic pursuits at the University of Pretoria to the brand’s own enduring presence in the pool environment that defines her career. Eschewing fleeting endorsement or simple product demonstration, the creative instead delivers a sustained narrative arc that unfolds across digital and film channels, intersecting the immediacy of upcoming championship events with the long-term aspiration of Paris 2024, aligning HTH’s legacy of reliability and trust with Corbett’s publicly charted pursuit of excellence. This branded content push stands out within the Internet/Technology and sports marketing category by emphasizing an authentic, multi-dimensional portrayal of an athlete’s reality, stitching together her personal dedication, professional ambition, and commitment to community impact, all while subtly reinforcing the brand’s role as a literal constant in her development from poolside dreamer to international competitor. In deploying Corbett as the recurring face of the campaign, HTH leverages not only the recall and aspiration inherent in celebrity-led storytelling but also the credibility of lived experience, thus reaching beyond the core swimming audience to tap into broader currents of motivation, perseverance, and achievement that anchor sports branding at its most resonant. The collaboration’s dual agency involvement amplifies reach, exploiting MatchKit.co’s digital acumen to drive contextual engagement among fitness and lifestyle audiences, while Retroviral’s film craft elevates the storytelling to emotionally engaging heights, in turn securing HTH’s competitive resonance against water care incumbents through narrative affinity, not just functional claims. The campaign earns 58/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. Pools to Paris matters because it underscores the grown-up sophistication of sustained athlete-partner marketing, proving that resonance and long-term value emerge when brands fully inhabit the lived realities of their most credible champions.

Luckily we only charge cars - | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Luckily we only charge cars - | Clapboard Ad Archive

Luckily We Only Charge Cars by ANTI AS redefines the launch of DEFA Power, the world’s most powerful and sophisticated EV charger, through a bold and playful narrative that cuts through the crowded automotive and technology landscape of Finland, Norway, and Sweden in 2023. This campaign positions DEFA Power not merely as a functional necessity but as a groundbreaking innovation that elevates the electric vehicle charging experience to a new level of performance and reliability. Central to the campaign’s creative strategy is the juxtaposition of DEFA Power’s advanced technological prowess against the typically unremarkable consumer relationship with chargers and everyday electrical devices. By imaginatively transferring the immense charging force of DEFA Power onto common household appliances, the campaign employs exaggerated and symbolic visuals that dramatize the product’s extraordinary power, fitting neatly within Clapboard’s FORMAT#9—Symbolize the Benefit. The title Luckily We Only Charge Cars wryly acknowledges the comic consequences if such power were misapplied, while taglines like Are you ready for takeoff and The sky is no limit reinforce the metaphor of limitless energy and capability. This approach not only captures attention but also injects humor and relatability, effectively humanizing a high-tech product without diluting its premium positioning. Deployed across digital and film channels, the campaign leverages striking visual storytelling to enhance brand recall and engagement among tech-savvy, environmentally conscious Nordic audiences who demand both innovation and approachability in their technology choices. The campaign’s Clapboard Campaign Score is 63. Luckily We Only Charge Cars matters to the industry because it demonstrates how a technically complex product can be communicated through accessible humor and metaphor, which signals a shift towards more imaginative storytelling in the EV charging category.

Brevo is the new Bravo - Brevo | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Brevo is the new Bravo - Brevo | Clapboard Ad Archive

Brevo is the new Bravo is a decisive statement of intent from Brevo and agency Kazam!, launching in 2023 across France, Germany, and the United States to reposition Brevo as the most approachable all-in-one CRM suite in the hyper-competitive internet and technology market category. Anchored by a clear, contemporary narrative, the campaign centers on a female entrepreneur growing her business with Brevo, directly tackling acute industry headaches: the fragmentation of customer management, the operational inefficiency of juggling multiple siloed platforms, and the time drain that slows progress for SMEs and ambitious independents alike. In what Clapboard’s taxonomy identifies as FORMAT#2—Show the Problem, the campaign presents pain points in a relatable business scenario, then unpacks Brevo as the seamless, singular answer, integrating email, SMS, WhatsApp, transactional APIs, and every aspect of sales and marketing into one intuitively designed platform. This approach brings the product’s tangible benefits into sharp relief without recourse to dramatization or parody, relying instead on concrete scenario cues and benefit-driven language to demonstrate functional superiority and everyday relevance. Brevo’s communication strategy leverages scale and credibility, referencing a global user base in excess of half a million, and positions the suite’s best-in-class tools—marketing automation, chat, meetings, and more—as the connective tissue unifying the entire customer journey, regardless of market or channel. Against category competitors like Mailchimp, Sendinblue, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign, and HubSpot, Brevo’s messaging stands out for its directness and inclusive tone: rather than over-indexing on technical prowess, it projects accessibility and immediate utility, lowering barriers to adoption for organisations at every stage of digital transformation. The campaign’s 360-degree media mix of film and print anchors its international reach and cross-sector relevance, while the central tagline—Today, we no longer say Bravo. We say Brevo—signals a confident rebrand with linguistic wit that invites participation and cultural recall. Consistent visibility through brevo.com and major social platforms reinforces a modern, responsive presence, and with viewership clearing the 1.8 million mark, the campaign’s resonance with its target is self-evident. No individual heroics or creative flourishes distract from the strategic fundamentals: the story is the problem, the hero is the product, and every execution is a working demonstration. The campaign earns 63/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. As CRM providers race to win mindshare with ever-complex feature sets, Brevo’s timely articulation of everyday business challenges with a unified, pragmatic solution signals a recalibration toward approachable technology that enables growth without complication.

Valentine’s Day, Scaler USA - Scaler USA | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Valentine’s Day, Scaler USA - Scaler USA | Clapboard Ad Archive

For Valentine’s Day in 2023, Scaler USA and agency Pixelfox delivered a digital campaign that locates romance within the lived reality of young professionals building careers in technology, positioning the education and technology brand with precision inside its cultural cohort. The concept is elegantly straightforward: four short narrative films rendered in 2D illustration, each staging intimate vignettes from the lives of techies whose romantic moments are integrated seamlessly with coding references and office routines. This campaign operates in the market category of Internet and Technology, targeting an audience rarely spoken to as emotionally complex individuals—programmers, developers, and tech professionals whose lives straddle both relentless upskilling and everyday connection. The creative approach underscores that ambition and affection coexist, using illustrative storytelling to make the emotional textures of tech work—pair programming, late-night debugging, shared success—into analogues for contemporary romance. What Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#10—Associated User Imagery, this approach trades the hero arcs and personal triumphs often favoured by professional upskilling platforms for lived-in authenticity, letting viewers see themselves reflected in the campaign’s characters without condescension or idealisation. In eschewing both product demo and heavy-handed symbolism, the campaign instead invites its audience to recognize the subtle ways their passions for code and for one another are entwined, anchoring Scaler USA’s brand message in everyday aspiration and relatability. Positioned in a crowded field that includes InterviewBit, UpGrad, Great Learning, Coding Ninjas, and LeetCode—all of whom default to credentialism, placement statistics, or technical virtuosity—Scaler USA’s Valentine’s Day effort stands apart by anchoring its appeal in emotional relevance rather than skills-based achievement. This narrative strategy both humanises the brand and expands its addressable market beyond pure functional benefit, signaling an industry shift toward campaigns that locate tech talent in richer personal contexts. Clapboard rates this 63/100. The campaign matters to the industry because it signals a growing appetite for technology marketing that treats professional audiences as multidimensional, fostering emotional resonance in a sector that too often defaults to transactional storytelling.

Into the agentverse - Zendesk | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Into the agentverse - Zendesk | Clapboard Ad Archive

Zendesk’s 2022 campaign Into the Agentverse reimagines customer service through a dynamic multiverse lens, drawing on the cultural momentum generated by recent pop culture’s fascination with parallel realities. This United States-based integrated campaign for the professional services sector uses cutting-edge VFX to transport viewers across alternate agent universes, each shaped by differing levels of technological sophistication and company infrastructure, effectively dramatizing the gap between outdated, sluggish customer support systems and the streamlined, responsive experiences enabled by Zendesk’s platform. By positioning customer service agents as protagonists navigating these divergent realities, the campaign underscores Zendesk’s core value proposition: a flexible, forward-thinking solution that adapts to a range of operational environments, elevating service from a frustrating bottleneck to a strategic advantage. Rather than relying on conventional problem/solution storytelling, the campaign employs what Clapboard categorizes as FORMAT#12—Parody or Borrowed Format—leveraging the familiar multiverse trope popularized by titles like Into the Spider-Verse to create an imaginative, accessible metaphor that resonates with decision-makers who may otherwise be disengaged by technical jargon. This approach serves a dual purpose: it engages a tech-savvy professional audience attuned to current media trends while clearly illustrating the practical consequences of legacy systems versus modern platforms without resorting to dry demonstrations or heavy-handed pitches. The campaign’s three media assets collectively reinforce Zendesk’s message of adaptability and innovation, presenting the brand as an essential partner for businesses seeking to future-proof their customer support capabilities. Although early engagement metrics fall below thresholds typically associated with broad viral impact, the strategic cultural alignment and the clarity of the campaign’s thematic execution indicate a purposeful effort to forge an emotional connection alongside a rational case for upgrading customer service infrastructure. Within the competitive landscape of customer service technology, where brands like Salesforce Service Cloud, Freshdesk, and ServiceNow emphasize AI, automation, and integration, Zendesk’s Into the Agentverse distinguishes itself by embracing a narrative-driven, visually immersive framework that speaks directly to the experiential realities of agents and managers alike. Clapboard rates this campaign 63/100. This campaign matters because it demonstrates how technology brands in professional services can harness popular culture narratives to translate complex B2B value propositions into compelling, culturally relevant stories that engage and educate simultaneously.

Competitive Planks

Coursera – Market Positioning Coursera positions itself as a global online learning platform partnering with top universities and companies to offer accredited courses, professional certificates, and degree programs. Its strategic angle emphasizes high-quality education from prestigious institutions, blending accessibility with academic credibility to appeal to learners seeking career advancement and formal credentials.

LinkedIn Learning – Market Positioning LinkedIn Learning leverages the professional social network LinkedIn to offer skill-based video courses tailored to career development. Its differentiation lies in personalized course recommendations linked to users’ career profiles and goals, as well as integration with LinkedIn’s job market insights, targeting professionals looking to upskill and boost employability.

edX – Market Positioning edX is known for delivering university-level online courses, including MicroMasters and professional certificates, through partnerships with world-renowned institutions. Its strategic focus is on open access to high-quality education and rigorous academic content, appealing to learners aiming for formal education credentials with a strong foundation in science, technology, and humanities.

Skillshare – Market Positioning Skillshare specializes in creative and practical skill development through a subscription-based model featuring project-based short courses. It differentiates itself by fostering a community-driven learning environment where creativity and entrepreneurship are prioritized, targeting hobbyists, freelancers, and creative professionals.

Khan Academy – Market Positioning Khan Academy operates as a non-profit offering free, high-quality educational content primarily targeting K-12 students and lifelong learners. It focuses on democratizing access to foundational education worldwide, providing personalized learning paths and resources without cost barriers, emphasizing social impact and educational equity.