At the Super Bowl, at least as much attention is paid to the commercials during the halftime break as to what is happening on the pitch. Who can and wants to afford the absurd cost of a 30-second film? In this year’s edition of the event earlier this week, it was clear who wanted to be at the forefront: the opaque cryptocurrency and NFT industry.
People who have been around a little longer felt uncomfortably reminded of the same event 22 years ago. At that time, the dot-com companies emerging in the new market were crowding into the ranks that otherwise seemed reserved for the establishment of consumer culture: fast-food chains and beverage or car manufacturers. A few months later the bubble burst. Most of the companies that promised to shape the future back then are bankrupt or have been taken over. With cryptocurrencies’ current fabled valuations, history could be repeating itself.
It remains to be seen whether that will happen. In any case, it is just as remarkable who lends his face to the commercials. Comedy legend Larry David is also on board, as are basketball stars Stephen Curry or Lebron James and numerous more or less well-known rappers. Movie star Matt Damon compares in a commercial for the trade exchange crypto.com the investment in Bitcoins with the great achievements of human history, in the background you can see pictures of mountaineers, aviation pioneers and astronauts. “Luck is with the brave,” says Damon without batting an eyelid.
At first glance, this seems to be a perfect combination. After all, the value of the currencies traded is measured primarily by their supposed exclusivity, coolness and notoriety. The crypto companies are trying with all their might to conquer the mainstream – and thus also to convince small savers to invest their old money in the new money. Meanwhile, critics point out that almost all cryptocurrencies are like a pyramid scheme that can only exist if new investors are constantly found who have to bear the ever-increasing financial risks.
However, the entertainment industry is no longer satisfied with providing the advertising faces for crypto investments. Movie studios and record labels are now eagerly releasing their own products. As merchandise for the start of new films, whether it’s “Matrix”, “Ghostbusters” or “Spider-Man”, not only the usual game figures, posters or trading cards are released nowadays, but also their digital equivalents in the form of NFTs.
In any case, the links between celebrities and the crypto scene have long included much more than just simple advertising deals. The lines between celebrity sponsorship and insider trading are beginning to blur. The influential talent and artist agency CAA is one of the key investors in OpenSea, the best-known trading venue for NFTs. It’s not surprising then that a number of celebrities who are signed to the agency are more or less subtly promoting the digital certificates as investment products. And so Paris Hilton and late-night talker Jimmy Fallon recently chatted on his show about the so-called Bored Apes pictures, which are now being traded for prices of several hundred thousand dollars. The applause from the studio audience was unconvincing. There still seems to be hope.