The Crypto Superbowl Ad I Wanted to See

Bubble baths, anyone?

I get it. The Superbowl is about producing really catchy, awesome commercials.

But considering this was considered the “mainstream debut” of crypto, it would’ve been way more awesome to see companies take one minute to educate people about what they’re selling.

Sure, vague chaos worked for companies like GoDaddy back in the day, when people were like “what the fuck is this?”

And Coinbase certainly took that clever page out of that marketing handbook.

But at the end of the day, nobody really learned what crypto is, how to use it, or why they should invest.

Well, they sort of learned why: FOMO.

FOMO stands for “Fear of missing out.”

People create FOMO by talking big about something in a way that makes you…well, afraid to miss the boat. They make it seem like it’s an obvious choice to support their crypto. They either make it seem like the nay-sayers will miss out (like Larry David), or they say that only the “brave” people do it (like Matt Damon).

But maybe ads have always created FOMO?

Regardless, I’m disappointed (but not surprised) that these major companies took this opportunity to drive FOMO rather than educate over 100 million viewers.

So, with a heavy sigh, I’m taking this moment to explain what these companies do.

The Superbowl Ads Were for Crypto Exchanges

One of the biggest criticisms I saw on Twitter (from non-crypto enthusiasts) was that “you never see ads for the dollar or other currencies.”

I’m not sure whether they were just trolling, or if they genuinely believe that those ads were for crypto.

These weren’t ads for cryptocurrencies. They were ads for exchanges. Places where you can buy, sell, and trade crypto using their services.

I never really understood that about E*TRADE because I never traded stocks (still don’t). But apparently, customers can use the platform to trade stocks…and now crypto.

Crypto.com, FTX, eToro, and Coinbase offer similar services:

• Buy crypto with fiat (dollars, euros, yen)

• Exchange that crypto for other crypto

• Transfer that crypto into another wallet

• Convert that crypto back into fiat

• Withdraw fiat into your bank account

It could, however, be argued that these exchanges have their own cryptocurrencies: FTX has $FTT, Crypto.com has $CRO, Coinbase has $COIN. But promoting their tokens is not the primary objective of the ad.

Just like Wells Fargo ($WFC) and Bank of America ($BAC) aren’t advertising their stocks. They’re trying to sell you services. And when you pay for their services, they generate a profit. And when a company is profitable, their stock value usually goes up.

Just like the value of a cryptocurrency goes up when people see value in owning it.

The Ad I Want to Make

Honestly though, any of those companies could’ve done so much more with that single minute of airtime. They could’ve had someone like Margot Robbie in a bubble bath say:

“Here’s how you use the FTX platform:

• First, open an account

• Connect your bank account to it

• And transfer some dollars into your FTX account

• Then, let’s say you want to buy some Bitcoin

• Go to “buy” and type in how much BTC you want to buy

• Click “buy”

Once the transaction finalizes, you now have BTC!”

Or it could’ve been Eva Longoria. Or Deana Burke. Or Jaime Schimdt. Or Shiza Shahid. Or anyone who is interested in educating people about crypto so they feel comfortable adopting it.

And it wouldn’t have to be in a bubble bath (though I’m a huge advocate of bubble baths).

Think Different

When companies pay that much money for an ad during a highly anticipated, televised event - where most of the audience doesn’t own crypto - it seems like a great opportunity to educate people about this controversial, seemingly difficult technology.

And yes, not everyone in the audience is your target user. But the ads could’ve progressed crypto adoption and acceptance faster if they had chosen not to follow the trends and patterns of other Superbowl ads.

But maybe I’m wrong. Crypto app downloads saw a huge spike in the days following the event. So the ads certainly achieved something.

Personally, however, I thought the purpose of creating amazing, timeless advertisements was to think different.