Proactive Investors - For a few short months in 2021 and early 2022, the cryptocurrency sector was on an absolute roll.
Bitcoin, Ethereum and most major altcoins saw all-time highs and companies were flush with cash from raking in huge brokerage fees.
A lot of this dry power went into advertising, and cryptocurrency and Web3 were the darlings of the most expensive advertising slot of all: Super Bowl 2022.
Alongside the usual beer, car, fast food and entertainment brands were the likes of Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), FTX, Meta and Crypto.com.
However, as the year progressed, the enthusiasm and optimism for crypto during that time took a battering when the markets tanked, sending countless firms bust and exposing the widespread failings underpinning the unregulated industry.
As such, it comes as little surprise that cryptocurrency will not be making a return to Super Bowl 2023 this weekend, at least if the current advertising schedule is anything to go by.
We could get a surprise or two, but in the meantime, let’s look back on Super Bowl 2022’s crypto spots and see where they are now!
Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN)
Given the extraordinary price tag in securing a Super Bowl advertising spot, Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) had to cut corners in other places.
It did this by filling 59 of the 60 available second with a QR code bouncing around the screen reminiscent of the classic DVD Video screensaver.
If you want to skip to the good bit, the QR code hits a perfect corner at 0:55.
Where is Coinbase now? Coinbase remains a major player in the cryptocurrency sector and the only platform listed on a major exchange.
However, the good news pretty much ends there for Coinbase. The company saw huge setbacks in 2022, with a tanking market value, large-scale workforce restructurings, extremely bearish forecasts and, just this week, concerns that its lucrative staking service could be in regulatory hot water.
FTX’s Super Bowl stop was objectively great. Featuring comedy legend Larry David, the spot showed David as various characters throughout history snubbing the wheel, indoor toilets, the Declaration of Independence, the light bulb and, finally, FTX.
The suggestion being that FTX is the next big advancement for humankind. So…
Is FTX still around? FTX is not still around. In case you have been living under a rock, formerly the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange FTX has been accused of being one of the biggest scams in US financial history.
Founder and former chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried faces life behind bars if found guilty of defrauding customers to the tune of US$8bn.
He remains under house arrest in his parents’ California home awaiting trial.
Good shout Larry.
Crypto.com
Titled ‘Make History’, Crypto.com’s 2022 spot swapped out Matt Damon for LeBron James. The cryptocurrency exchange’s infamous tagline “fortune favours the brave” made a return.
Where is Crypto.com now? Crypto.com did make history in 2022 by culling 20% of its workforce and scrapping one of the largest-ever UEFA Champions League sponsorships
The group remains a prominent player in the cryptocurrency exchange market, ranking at 15 on CoinMarketCap’s table.
Meta Platforms
More metaverse than crypto, but Meta’s Oculus VR spot was easily the most dystopian of the 2022 set.
In the spot, an animatronic singing dog performing at ‘Questy’s’, a trademark-friendly analogue of US restaurant chain Chuck-E-Cheeze, finds himself abandoned by the roadside after Questy’s goes busties.
Thankfully, the dog finds purpose in life inside Meta née Facebook’s Horizon Worlds metaverse. Perhaps suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, the dog seeks out a digital version of Questy’s and proceeds to perform Simple Minds’ banger Don’t You (Forget About Me) to an enthusiastic audience.
None of them has legs.
Where is Meta now? Obviously, Meta remains a giant in the tech industry, albeit with a substantially reduced market capitalisation.
Meta’s latest fourth-quarter earnings call was a mixed bag, but shares popped off after chief Mark Zuckerberg announced a US$40bn share buyback.
Meta has not announced a 2023 spot.