Coinbase tells crypto haters to eat their words in new ad

Crypto exchange Coinbase has a message for everyone declaring that crypto is dead: It's heard this before. A 30-second spot released for the brand's 10th anniversary, titled “Long Live Crypto,” highlights social media posts made over the years that have announced the death of crypto. The commercial begins with a post from earlier this month and descends all the way back to one from August 2012, when only Bitcoin existed. Frédéric Chopin’s famous funeral march from Piano Sonata No. 2 plays in the background to further drive home the ad's point. Coinbase is effectively telling crypto critics to eat their words given the brand has heard the same kinds of decrees since it was founded a decade ago. Volatility has been a constant in the young life of the crypto industry, and with each period of bearish market conditions, known as a crypto winter, detractors, non-enthusiasts and many of the general public have rushed to toll the death knell. The crypto market presently appears to be entering one of these winters, as a months-long downturn in prices of cryptocurrencies since highs in November has accelerated in recent weeks. The market cap for the entire crypto industry has shed nearly $2 trillion, from $3.1 trillion to $1.3 trillion, since last fall. Despite these conditions, Coinbase is defending its industry, a stance encapsulated by the ad’s title and takeaway: Long live crypto. The commercial debuted during Wednesday night’s NBA Western Conference Finals game between the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks. It will run nationally during more NBA Conference Finals games, per a company spokesperson. “It’s easy to write an obituary. It’s hard to bring something new to life,” Coinbase Chief Marketing Officer Kate Rouch in a company blog post published Wednesday. “We hope this ad inspires people who have been through these types of challenges before — whether in crypto or beyond — to share their wisdom, and inspiration.” Sign up here for upcoming events and awards Ad Age In-Depth: TV Pivot Ad Age 40 under 40 Ad Age Small Agency Conference & Awards “Long Live Crypto” is Coinbase’s first national tv spot since its viral Super Bowl spot earlier this year, which featured a bouncing QR code. Accenture Song worked on both campaigns (the agency rebranded from Accenture Interactive last month). Coinbase itself has had a rough few weeks. Its first-quarter results missed expectations and it announced plans to slow new hiring, a reversal from its plan at the beginning of 2022 to triple its staff. Shares of Coinbase have plunged roughly 75% so far this year. Despite these headwinds, Coinbase has announced a flurry of new projects in the past month. For a select number of customers, the company opened access to DeFi (decentralized finance) and other DApps (decentralized apps) through its mobile app, and a day later unveiled a think tank for crypto research called Coinbase Institute. Its NFT marketplace also recently opened to the public, although the platform has struggled to attract users.

Coinbase tells crypto haters to eat their words in new ad

Featured Stories