While brands are racking their brains to position themselves in new environments like the metaverse and Twitch, some television events still enjoy huge advertising impact, as the recent Super Bowl final in the US demonstrated. Although I have no idea which teams played, I know perfectly well which companies spent millions to appear in their ad breaks.
Beyond what they sold, the 64 ads made two things clear: that technology is increasingly present in our lives and that the cryptocurrency sector is betting everything to turn them into a mass consumer product, despite ( or thanks to) that hardly anyone understands them.
In addition to the presence of technological giants such as Amazon, Meta and Salesforcethe spots this year included four related to the crypto sector. It may not seem like many, but the competition has never shown advertising of this type in its entire history, which reflects the strength of this new trend.
However, the most striking thing was not its debut but the fact that none of the ads explained absolutely nothing about what it was selling. To give you an idea, the exchange platform coinbasewhich lasted a whopping one minute, was limited to showing a QR code that redirected to its website to give away 15 dollars in bitcoins to new users.
But what message did he convey about the possibilities of his product? Like the other three: none. The rest of crypto advertisers, championed by stars like Lebron James, they focused on the idea of ’not losing the car of the future’. “If you want to make history, you have to make your own decisions,” said one. “Don’t miss out on the next big thing,” concluded another.
Why the crypto world represents the next big thing How will you make history? And, more importantly, what is it for and what are its risks? They didn’t answer that, the only thing they offered was the vague promise of an uncertain future. They encouraged people to invest in cryptocurrencies, but for what? in exchange for?
Why the crypto world represents the next big thing
Ok that ads are not required to contain an informational component, but they should at least make it clear what they are selling and what they are offering in return. And even more so when the product in question is full of unknowns, scams and misinformation.
The frauds and doubts have reached such a level that just today the National Securities Market Commission may begin to monitor the massive advertising campaigns of cryptocurrencies in Spain. This new power aspires to achieve a “clear, balanced, unbiased and non-misleading” crypto advertisingso I wonder how many of the four Super Bowl ads would have made the cut.
This supervision becomes especially important when analyzing the majority profile of cryptocurrency buyers: young boys. seduced by influencers and increasingly aggressive advertising, 43% of American men between the ages of 18 and 29 have used some form of cryptocurrency, even though its overall usage rate only reaches 16% of its population.
With this demographic, anyone would say that lCryptocurrencies are the new product coolthe new Coca-Cola, the new fashion brand to spend your paycheck on. However, in reality it is “a very difficult field to understand”, says the economist Tyler Cowen in a recent interview with tech crunch.
Although he calls himself a “cryptoptimist”, he warns that most economists do not understand technology and that, in fact, it is a more computational than economic advance. Despite its more than 10 years of history, not even Bitcoin, the undisputed queen of the sector, has managed to become widespread as a form of payment.
Cowen’s optimism lies in the blockchains that support cryptocurrencies and whose potential is indeed immense. But one thing is that blockchain can enable useful services like smart contracts and reduce reliance on banks, and another, that every new crypto currency and exchange platform is here to stay.
For this reason, cryptocurrency advertisements remind me more and more of those of bookmakers: they use celebrities to promise quick profits in an entertaining way while ignoring all their associated risks and operation.
Whether it is gambling or the trail of scams that cryptocurrencies have left ahead, it is important to be aware of where, why and for what money is risked. And remember: just because it’s on TV, in the Super Bowl, or in the metaverse doesn’t mean it’s safe, and neither does being sold by a celebrity.
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