Rapture #141: Crypto Super Bowl Commercials
While I will get back to the “my favorite crypto funds” series tomorrow, in celebration of the best American holiday, I thought it would be fun to cover some of the crypto related Super Bowl ads.
2022 was the first year to have crypto related ads in the Super Bowl, and I doubt it will be the last. Mostly, the cashflow kings of crypto, exchanges, were the ones who dolled out the dough for these Super Bowl commercials. A 30-second ad on the Super Bowl cost $7 million. I was not able to find the cost of a 60 second ad, but my guess would be between $10 - 14 million.
Coinbase
Everyone was talking about the Coinbase commercial during and after the Super Bowl. The ad consisted of a simple QR code changing colors across the screen. Scanning the QR code took viewers to Coinbase's site, where they were promptly asked to sign up for Coinbase.
So many viewers scanned the QR code last night that Coinbase actually crashed. Furthermore, the Coinbase's website generated 20 million hits in 1 minute after its commercial and the app went from 186th to 2nd in the app store.
As Carmen Rodgers stated, this ad was incredibly bold because it said that Coinbase only wants to sell to people who know what a QR code is, not to the tech ignorant. Incredibly provocative overall.
FTX
As a huge fan of Larry David, my personal favorite commercial of the night was FTX's Don't Miss Out. In this commercial, various inventions are presented to Larry David throughout history, from the wheel to the light bulb, and Larry David proceeds to deny their viability. The commercial ends with someone pitching him FTX to buy crypto, in which he also proceeds to say he does not think it will take off.
While anything with Larry David is bound to be funny, the commercial is so brilliant because it perfectly captures the sentiment of the critics of crypto who dissent against progress purely because they do not understand.
Crypto.com
Crypto.com's commercial was fun since it heavily featured an older Lebron James telling his younger self what the future would have in store for him. Furthermore, the older James encouraged him to take his shot [at greatness], and then the Crypto.com logo appeared.
The subtle message of this commercial is to tell viewers to take their shot at greatness crypto trading, which is bold considering how the risk of the endeavor. I guess its a similar message conveyed by the Draft Kings of the worlds in their commercials.
Takeaway
The FTX and Coinbase commercials have potential to go down as some of the most impactful commercials made by tech companies of all time, up there with the greats like Apple's 1984 Super Bowl commercial. These commercials more than anything else conveyed the values of crypto. It is truly amazing to see how far crypto marketing has come over the past few years, as we have moved away from pitching the description of the technology to conveying values, which is far more effective.