Larry David Finally Agrees to Appear in a Crypto ad for FTX

Larry David, a known ad avoider, has agreed to appear in a pro-crypto ad. This is the first advertisement he’s ever agreed to appear in.

Crypto exchange FTX have managed to rope Larry David into their latest campaign. The ad ran for the first time during the Super Bowl 56, which took place on Sunday, February 13, 2022.

The ad is designed to convert sceptics over to cryptocurrency acceptance, and to grow the digital currency ecosystem.

FTX’s 60-second spot, to be played in the first half of the game, has Larry David as its “anti-sponsor.”

Larry David: Addressing Scepticism

Says FTX Co-Founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, “We need to meet people where they are – and that means embracing scepticism. A lot of people who are now the biggest advocates of crypto once had significant reservations.” 

The ad was directed by Larry David’s longtime creative partner on both Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jeff Schaffer. According to Schaffer, the concept was pitched by FTX’s creative agency, dentsuMB. The concept impressed Larry David. David has never been in a commercial before. But finally, he agreed.

Schaffer said, “Larry’s had endless ad suitors over the years, from beer brands to toilets. When we’d get concept materials, we’d say: ‘Oh, it could be fun if we bent it this way.’ This was the first idea we’ve ever seen, where we were like: ‘Oh, it’s perfect.’ Every invention has its skeptics and Larry is the proud voice of those people.”

There’s also the Director’s Cut for an extended play version.

Adoption Imminent

According to an Ascent survey conducted last year, over half of Americans who own cryptocurrency, bought it for the very first time in 2021. Over 20% of Americans (56.7 million) have never bought cryptocurrency. But they are likely to buy in the next year, according to sentiment expressed in the survey.

Crypto adoption is continuing to rise. And, FTX, say they have seen substantial growth. They say they their average daily trading volume grew 608% in 2021. “Total spot crypto traded in the first full year of operation eclipsed $67B. Now, 1.2M users are on the exchange, an increase of 11,900% in 2021.”

FTX’s Head of Marketing, Nathaniel Whittemore, said, “What I hope people see is that we’re not taking ourselves too seriously. We wanted an ad that made people laugh and added even more fun to their Big Game experience and traditions. We’re not saying crypto is humankind’s greatest invention. We do see crypto’s radical potential though.”

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