Cboe | Life is Better With Options

Opportunity

Having invented listed options in 1973, Cboe wanted to reclaim ownership of the category and reinforce its position as a leader in options trading. Following decades of growth and acquisitions, the brand needed a clear, unified story that would inspire more investors to trade Cboe Index Options.

More than 50% of investors still invest in a single fund because they are unaware that other options exist. Options can help investors manage risk and create flexibility, but the value of those benefits can be difficult to communicate through traditional financial advertising. Rather than adding to the industry’s complexity, Cboe needed to make options feel relevant and accessible to a broader audience.

still from Cboe TV advert men with same haircut walking along street

Approach

Cboe trusted tms with a broad creative remit, giving the team the opportunity to define the strategic brief and develop the campaign from the ground up.

Instead of trying to explain the complex benefits of options within the limits of traditional media, tms flipped the challenge on its head. We created “Life is Better With Options”, a campaign imagining what life would look like without choice.

The hero film follows Thomas through a softly dystopian city of uniform streets, matching cars and identical haircuts. Everything offers only the illusion of choice until Thomas discovers an option for the first time – and experiences a freedom he did not know was missing.

Originally developed for retail investors, the idea evolved into a wider global brand campaign. tms led the project from strategy and creative development through to international film production and creative versioning. Working across a highly regulated industry, we adapted the campaign to meet different market requirements without losing the clarity or impact of its central idea.

Outcome

“Life is Better With Options” helped Cboe reclaim ownership of the options category and reinforce its dominant position as a category leader by transforming a complex investment proposition into a distinctive and accessible global brand platform.

The campaign drove measurable behavior change, contributing to significant increases in index options trading following its launch. It also earned 25 awards and industry recognitions, including three distinctions at the 2026 Red Dot Brands & Communication Design Awards and Best in Show – Consumer at the Financial Communications Society Portfolio Awards.