The Greatest Cryptocurrency Ad Ever?
If "Fortune Favors the Brave," then we saw the greatest advertisement for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies ever this month. And it might not be the one you're thinking of...
Before we get into the cryptocurrency angle of this article, I just want to point out that whether you love the NFL or hate the NFL, the games in this postseason were bonkers good. The NFL playoffs in January and February of 2022 were like a living embodiment of Russel Crowe’s Maximus in the movie Gladiator. Yes, I was entertained! And yes, it’ was exactly why I was here. Amazing.
What was particularly incredible yesterday during the Super Bowl was the amount of money spent on advertisements for cryptocurrency on-ramps. We saw presence from Coinbase, Crypto.com, and FTX. FTX and Coinbase both went with full minute ads rather than the standard 30 second Super Bowl spots. What was equally impressive was the breadth of stylistic choices between the ads. The FTX spot featured Larry David shooting down every meaningful innovation through history. It was friggin’ hilarious, actually. Here’s an extended cut:
LeBron James, in conjunction with Crypto.com, tells his high school-aged self about the future and what he can expect. He doesn’t give away everything about crypto in the ad, but he does tell his young self, “you gotta call your own shots.” Which is a brilliant, yet simple, mantra that fits very well in the crypto ethos. There was even a Dr. Dre (halftime performer) tie-in with the “Next Episode” as the music bed in the ad. It works because that track would have still been very popular when LeBron was in high school.
The crypto on-ramp spot that might have been the most out there though was Coinbase’s minute long QR code that just slowly moved around like an old screen saver changing colors. People who scanned the code were sent to a website promising $15 in free Bitcoin by signing up with Coinbase. The traffic boost from the QR code crashed the website. And the millions of people who already have a Coinbase account (cough like yours truly cough) could be entered to win prizes out of a $3 million cash pool.
All of the crypto related Super Bowl ads were good for completely different reasons. That said, none of them were the greatest advertisement for cryptocurrencies of all time. That honor goes to GoFundMe and the Canadian government. Yes, I’m going there! If you’re somehow unfamiliar with the story, here’s the TLDR version:
The Canadian trucker convoy is a protest against mandated vaccination in Canada. Though they’ve all been labeled as “anti-vax,” 86% of the truckers are vaccinated against COVID-19. They are unquestionably protesting mandates and are in support of freedom for all.
A bunch of people raised roughly $10 million for the Canadian trucker convoy through GoFundMe. The funds would provide fuel and food for the protestors.
GoFundMe decided not to give the group the funds because of “reports of unlawful activity.”
GiveSendGo (a GoFundMe competitor) stepped up and raised roughly $8 million for the trucker convoy since GoFundMe has decided to be an evil enterprise.
The Canadian government has said it will freeze any funds GiveSendGo tries to send to the protestors. GiveSendGo vows to get them the funds any creative way that they can.
Bitcoiners have raised nearly a $1 million for the trucker convoy as well via direct BTC donation.
Now, a big part of the issue with the Trucker Convoy has been how the media and how Canadian prime minister Justin Castro Trudeau have portrayed those involved with the protest. Trudeau, embarrassingly, continues to call the truckers a group of racist, misogynists who hold “unacceptable views.” Of course, the reality on the ground is completely different. And those who have been skeptical have discovered for themselves after going in person.
So we have a corporate establishment and government working together to brainwash the people who still watch the legacy media and use legacy social platforms. We have the government using the power that it has over the banking sector to freeze out people who are not obeying unjust, draconian rules that haven't made scientific sense in months (and that’s being generous). And we have a populace that is waking up and learning about alternatives; Social media. Money. Ideas.
You can send Bitcoin to the truckers right now. This is the address. And they’ll have it in a few minutes. There is absolutely nothing the government or the banks can do about it. Of course you need an on-ramp to get crypto. You DON’T need an off-ramp. That is the entire point of crypto. The governments of the world have had a monopoly on money through fiat and their banking overlords. We don’t need them anymore.
We can send Bitcoin to the protestors. And they can use that Bitcoin to buy whatever they need so long as those who want to sell them food and fuel will take the Bitcoin. No off-ramp required. No traditional bank required. After seeing what these Federal governments and their corrupt, lapdog corporate allies will do to keep power, who wants a fiat off ramp at this point? Not me. The establishment is desperately trying to hold its grip over the people. The problem is, through that desperation they have shown their cards and we see who they have really been the whole time.
We don’t like it and we don’t any of them. Honk honk.
Extra Credit
The truckers aren’t the only thing the mainstream media has been lying about this month. Check out this gem from Rumble. It’s a mashup of Joe Rogan supporting left-leaning policies and politicians. Calling the man right-wing, is bonkers. Apparently, even Russell Brand is now right-wing! Simply because he’s been calling out the nonsense.
Also, if you still think Joe Rogan is a racist, middleweight UFC champ Israel Adesanya would disagree: