This Super Bowl was the first Super Bowl ever to feature crypto ads, and this new type of advertisement gave a lot more people insight into the crypto world. Major crypto companies like Coinbase, FTX, Crypto.com, and others showcased their brands in Super Bowl LVI. The popularity of these crypto ads led to some people calling Super Bowl LVI the “Crypto Bowl.” But, how did these crypto ads showcase the crypto world to millions of people? Did it showcase the innovation of cryptocurrency, or did it urge people to get in as soon as they can, for Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO)? Were the ads well designed, or poorly made? Let’s review some of the most popular ads, and see how they portray the crypto world.
While there were other ads that mentioned cryptocurrency, I decided to narrow the list down to the 3 major crypto brands. (This list is in no particular order.) Also, comments that I listed are typical across all sources.
FTX Larry Ad:
FTX made their debut in Super Bowl LVI with their “Don’t be like Larry” ad. You can watch the ad here. Basically, this ad features Larry David going through time, and rejecting the new ideas of that time like the wheel, forks, coffee, and more. I thought this ad was very funny, and had great execution. The way this ad was executed made this 2:30 long ad feel like 30 seconds. At the end of the advertisement, it states, “Don’t be like Larry” or in simpler terms, don’t miss out on future innovations.
The general public’s reactions toward the ad are very positive, and many people praised it’s comedy.
Some people on Twitter thought, “The Larry David commercial is the best. Hands down.”
Comments on the FTX Larry David Youtube video thought, “Larry David is a comedic genius”
The sketch was well thought out, had the perfect cast, and outright hilarious. In my opinion, the FTX ad was one of the most well received ads in the entire Super Bowl. The ad did a good job expressing the message that crypto is the next big thing. One problem I had with the message was that FTX also said, “Don’t miss out” which is kind of promoting FOMO, which is never a good thing in any market. However, with that said, I still loved this ad and its comedy.
Crypto.com’s Lebron Ad:
Crypto.com showcased their “Fortune Favors the Brave” advertisement in the Super Bowl, but the Lebron one was Crypto.com’s newest release. You can watch the video here. To sum it up, Lebron is with his younger self in the past talking about all of the innovation of the future. However, during this dialogue crypto or any resemblance of the blockchain was never mentioned. Not once. The only time you could recognise this was a crypto ad was a music disk that featured the Crypto.com logo and the ending, when Crypto.com’s logo came up with their motto, “Fortune Favors the Brave.” I understand what Crypto.com was trying to portray—fortune favors the brave—but the execution was a little weak in my opinion. It just didn’t feel like a crypto ad.
Many people’s reaction to the ad was more about Lebron talking to his younger self, not much about crypto.com.
Some people liked the crypto.com ad because of the, “strong early 2000’s nostalgia” or the, “Moment of truth of Lebron’s career.”
However, many people in the crypto space’s reaction to the crypto.com ad was only a, “meh.”
Overall, while the advertisement had a cool idea, it didn’t really feel like it resonates with the crypto world. While the concept of going back in time to talk to your younger self about the future is a cool idea, Crypto.com could have at least added some dialogue about crypto. Maybe if Crypto.com added something about owning NFT music, or how you can do almost anything on the blockchain, the ad would have been better received by people. This ad did give a lot of 2000s basketball fans some nogastolia, though.
Coinbase’s Simple QR Code:
Finally, Coinbase released their first ever Super Bowl Ad, and it was a total success. You can watch the ad here. In summary, the Coinbase ad resembled the DVD logo screensaver. You know, the one DVD logo bouncing around the tv screen? Coinbase used a square with a qr code that brought anyone who scanned it to their website. Now, why was this ad such a success? Because this ad brought back nostalgia to all of us. It captured everyone’s attention who was watching the Super Bowl just by having a square bounce around the tv screen. Also, I’m sure every household in the U.S. cheered when that square hit the corner of the tv screen.
This ad was very popular with everyone. Not only did people who didn’t know anything about crypto enjoy this ad, a lot of people in the crypto space loved it as well. Nearly every person who has reacted to this ad had a positive reaction.
Many people on Youtube thought that this ad was, “The best ad in Super Bowl History.”
Some people on Twitter praised the ad for its ability to grab the attention of everyone.
Overall, the ad was so simple it was genius. It drew everyone in with the QR code and made people want to scan it. In fact, this ad was so popular it crashed Coinbase’s website because so many people scanned the QR code at the same time. This ad had no message, no plot, no comedy. It didn’t say anything about crypto, but it didn’t have to. This is the ad people will remember when it comes to crypto advertisements. Coinbase had some guts to spend so much money on such a simple ad, but their bet paid off, as it was probably the most ingenious ad I’ve seen in a while. This ad just captured the comedy of every person in the crypto world into one ad.
In conclusion, I think the first ever “Crypto Bowl” was a success. These ads managed to capture the attention of everyone watching the Super Bowl. We also must remember, the Super Bowl features some of the largest brands in the world, not just any advertisement can afford to get featured. This shows how successful cryptocurrency companies have been in the past year. From barely being showcased at all in the sports world, to having Super Bowl ads and even NBA arenas named after crypto brands, it’s pretty impressive how fast the crypto world has grown.
