Critics claim that "Crypto Bowl” ads promote FOMO and not the future

The Verge claims that this year's Super Bowl crypto ads did not do much to advance the industry in any meaningful way. They see it as a wasted opportunity that emphasizes style and not substance.

Crypto history is in the making

Many were talking about Super Bowl LVI as crypto's moment of glory. Coinbase, FTX and Crypto.com all paid tens of million to air TV ads in the hope of gaining mainstream acceptance and recognition.

It was the first time that crypto companies had advertised at the largest U.S sporting event. This was a great opportunity to reach the masses with digital assets.

According to expectations, the viewing figures have been released. A staggering 112.3million viewers tuned in to see the Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.

However, many aren't convinced that the crypto companies pulled it off. According to The Verge, the emphasis on convincing viewers to buy crypto over "anything else" was a missed opportunity.

"None of the crypto commercials during the big game attempted to sell people anything but spending more on crypto."

Scammed snake oil salesmen selling exchanges

This message was sent by a number of A-list celebrities, including Matt Damon and LeBron James. The Verge stated that this only added to the absurd hype.

The Coinbase ad that featured a QR code moving around the screen was not well received. Some hailed it as a marketing success, and even a genius move. Others said that it normalized the behavior of scammers. The ad was successful, resulting in 20,000,000 visits to Coinbase's website within a matter of minutes.

Coinbase underestimated the amount of traffic, and the website crashed. This is similar to connectivity issues that were experienced during extreme market volatility.

The Verge responded bluntly to Crypto Bowl by saying that the whole thing was about selling the idea of buying right now. Otherwise, viewers would miss it - basically, soliciting FOMO.

"If the Super Bowl was supposed to be the big public debut of blockchain technology, it was short on pitches that explained what cryptocurrency technology can do and how it will improve users' daily lives."

This route was costly in terms of the opportunity cost. It meant that you could ignore a fundamental message and still get Ponzi scheme vibes.