The BEST Super Bowl ad 🏈 | 👀 Anthro Newsletter #031
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Welcome back to the Anthro newsletter, friends!
It’s a been a while, but it’s back, fresher than ever. A LOT has happened since we last spoke - main thing being - I finally moved to America! 🇺🇸 While I’ve been enjoying time on the East Coast, getting to know Atlanta and Miami, I’m excited to settle into my permanent (for now?) new home in San Francisco ☀️🌴
I’m excited to bring you more cultural observations, insights and strategy - all of which I hope will satiate your curiosities and help you better connect your work to culture, and most importantly, to people!
This week we’re analysing the success of the best advert from last weekend’s Super Bowl in LA. The clear winner was Coinbase’s advert, and here’s why…
What happened
An hour before the Super Bowl kicked off, Coinbase tweeted saying…
I popped to the kitchen to get a drink top up and as I came back to the Super Bowl screen, it was blank, with just a colour-changing QR code bouncing around. Who else could it be, but Coinbase? I was excited, and scanned the moving, flashing screen ASAP!
A plain QR code moving around a blank screen that changes colour, in Q1 of the Super Bowl with no other words or copy - what could be more intriguing? The ad gave new users $15 in free Bitcoin, while entering existing users into a $1 million sweepstakes.
👀 You can watch the ad here if you missed it:
Criticism
The critics are saying that the crypto ads aren’t speaking to the concerns of non believers… And the Coinbase website went down. Some are calling it lazy. However, the praise far outweighs the criticism… And the proof is in the results.
Praise
Hats off to CMO Kate Touch. The ad was intriguing and “catch-all” enough to bring many “normies” or newbies into the crypto world. Coinbase says its ad spot drew more than 20 million visits to the company’s website in a single minute. The QR code was so much more popular than the team even expected. Engagement was 6x higher than any previous benchmarks. So much so that their website and app even went down briefly as a result. A success in terms of building more hype.
To boot, many unrelated brands have gone meme crazy for the Coinbase ad and made their own versions, including Avocados from Mexico, FTX and Intuit.
Coinbase and Avocados vibing is possibly the best thing I’ve seen on the internet in 2022 so far 💖🤑🥑
The ad is already being remembered as the first and most memorable crypto ad to grace the iconic Super Bowl.
According to app intelligence firm, Sensor Tower, Coinbase was the No. 2 app in the US App Store by Monday. App installs grew 309% week-over-week after the ad aired on Sunday 13th February. This continued to climb by a further 286% on Valentine’s day.
Overall a win for new users, loyal existing users and Coinbase itself.
Coinbase Gains
💪🏽 Coinbase received 20 million visits to its website.
💪🏽 Their level of engagement was 6x higher than previous benchmarks.
💪🏽 It was the first crypto ad in Super Bowl history - one to remember!
💪🏽 It was one of the most talked about Super Bowl ads.
💪🏽 Coinbase was the No. 2 app in the US App Store by Monday.
💪🏽 App installs grew 309% week-over-week after the ad aired.
👀 3 key takeaways for your brand:
Mitigate people’s intimidation or confusion about crypto by meeting your audience where they are.
Embrace the concept of human curiosity: Mystery when it’s so blatant and in your face, with a captive audience WILL get people’s attention.
Be brave and try something that’s never been done before. Playful and low production can be a winning formula too. It’s not all flashy celebs and storylines. In fact, celebs are generally so passé… 😴
Other interesting things:
Building an NFT project from scratch - Emma Tang
The social tokens guide - Holyn
Join my new weekly Twitter Space to discuss all things hype and culture, every Tuesday. Follow me to get the link for the next one!
Tuesday 9am PST
Tuesday 11am CT
Tuesday 12 noon EST
Tuesday 5pm GMT
See you next Tuesday & Sunday, thanks for reading!
— Sanya 😊
PS: Go RAMS! West coast represent 🔥
Comments or questions? Send me a note
Written by Sanya-Jeet Thandi, a strategist & consultant with a love for culture, start-ups and good karma. British Indian based in San Francisco. You can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram.
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