The so-called ‘Cryto Bowl’ saw a heavy blockchain presence, but one ad stole the show.
CRYPTO exchange firm Coinbase made its debut at Super Bowl LVI on Sunday evening with an ingenious piece of marketing that saw intense traffic directed towards its platform.
The 60-second ad simply featured a QR code bouncing around the screen, intended to mimic the nostalgia of the DVD logo. Once scanned, the digital code redirects first-time users to Coinbase’s promotional website, offering a limited-time promotion of $15 worth of free Bitcoin to new customers, and the chance to enter a three-million-dollar giveaway.
Existing members were not left out either, with a parallel sweepstake offering three prize pots of $1 million. Check out the ad below:
Coinbase were clearly not expecting the influx of traffic they received, resulting in the app crashing just seconds after the advert appeared on people’s screens.
An estimated 117 million people in almost 180 countries tuned in to Super Bowl LVI, making it the perfect platform for ambitious companies to promote their businesses.
But with an average price of $6.5 million for a 30-second ad (up by $1 million from 2021), the crypto company might have wished they’d prepared a little better as many users were left disappointed when they were unable to enter the giveaway.
Some sources have even suggested that Coinbase spent up to 150 bitcoins on the ad, which converts to around $14 million.
The company is investing heavily in promotion this year with a reported $100 million to attract new business, and their marketing tactic was intended to initiate everyone from complete beginners to established traders in cryptocurrency to embrace Coinbase as their platform of choice.
Coinbase chief marketing officer Kate Rouch said: “We believe the best way to learn about crypto is to actually try it. That’s why we’re launching our biggest giveaway ever, whereby all new customers will start their crypto journey with some Bitcoin in their account to get started. In other words: less talk, more Bitcoin.”
Coinbase’s advert debacle comes amid a strong crypto presence at Super Bowl LVI. Multiple companies — including Crypto.com and FTX — used the game to promote either cryptocurrency exchanges, NFTs, or other e-currency related projects.
Meta tried something similar not long after the Coinbase ad aired, showing a QR code bouncing around the screen that linked out to the company’s Foo Fighters-led VR afterparty it has planned for after the game.