Crypto Commercials at the Super Bowl

Nicole Beshara
Marketing Writer

FTX and Crypto.com at the Super Bowl fifty-four.

This upcoming Super Bowl on February 13 with the Rams versing the Bengals, with Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige scheduled to perform, will undoubtedly be an event not to miss. But of course, what we look forward to every year are the infamous Super Bowl commercials. Given the recent uproar of crypto investments, FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that featured Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen in their previous advertisements, has been rumored to run the commercial amidst the game. As per the Wall Street Journal, Crypto.com is also expected to have a spot. They have been increasingly advertising in the sports industry since they recently received rights to the Lakers arena. A Super Bowl ad is an efficient way to gain exposure and introduce familiarity through the most-watched event on television as cryptocurrency becomes increasingly common among mainstream media.

Cryptocurrency has been a common topic floating around apps like Instagram and Tiktok as a part of hustle culture reaching out to a younger crowd. However, with the help of the big event, crypto is being advertised to a broader range of people. Marketing experts say the ads offer an invaluable return on investment (ROI), which would allow for the exposure that cryptocurrency companies are seeking. John Antil, a marketing professor from the University of Delaware who focuses on Super Bowl advertising, claims that the event is “the best vehicle for smaller lesser-known brands to generate awareness.”

Initially, FTX and Cypto.com were extremely tight-lipped on what Super Bowl commercials will entail this year, and they were both rumored to be running 30-second commercials. However, this week FTX released a teaser of the commercial and is expected to be giving away Bitcoin to a few lucky winners as the commercial airs. To enter the giveaway, viewers are asked to retweet a pinned entry posted on Twitter by @FTX_OFFICIAL. The amount of Bitcoin will depend on when the ad airs, so winners can expect to receive 9 Bitcoin if it comes on at nine.

Cryptocurrency has the current reputation of being risky and volatile, which causes some to be skeptical about investing in crypto. However, the companies aim to alleviate these fears through this campaign. FTX’s head of marketing, Nathaniel Whittemore, believes, “The Super Bowl is, in many ways, the biggest stage from a culture perspective—and as crypto moves into the mainstream, we wanted to be a part of that massive conversation.”

FTX’s teaser just revealed that their ad would include figures from different points in history, including a farmer, a monk, even Thomas Edison, overcoming the hesitancy to sign up for the FTX giveaway. FTX hopes that these ads will grant them the opportunity to rewrite the reputation of cryptocurrency and will allow a new audience to become more willing to invest.
“Unnamed cryptocurrency players and NFT firms,” according to Business Insider, companies are still bidding for last-minute Super Bowl advertisements, so the list of crypto advertising might continue to increase. Significantly when, according to some estimates, crypto ad expenditure in the sports TV sector may surpass $100 million this year, as the Sports Business Journal recently pointed out.

Contact Nicole at nicole.beshara@student.shu.edu