Crypto has become wildly popular in 2022, going from a topic for niche internet subcultures to a subject of serious debate for both retail and professional investors in just a few years time. Yet despite all of this attention, crypto advertising is still tightly regulated in many parts of the world, including North America. In response to the many restrictions, advertisers have gotten creative with their marketing tactics: they’ve turned to influencer marketing, brand-level partnerships and even new technologies like AR to get their message to the world—with great success. Our list of the Most Viewed Video Ads for Crypto highlights some of these successes.
Crypto 101
Cryptocurrency, also simply called ‘crypto’ is the umbrella term for any virtual or digital currency that uses cryptography to secure its transactions and is not reliant on any central authority such as a bank or government. “Currency of the future” to some and “suspicious fraud” to others, crypto is unique because it works through an anonymous public ledger system called a blockchain. This blockchain collects data together into “blocks” and copies of these blocks are transmitted to every other computer in the network. This means that if one person tries to alter their own copy of the records to add funds to their account, other computers will immediately recognize a discrepancy. The true power of cryptocurrency is that it allows for seamless, anonymous digital transactions; it is essentially a tamper-proof financial system that regulates itself through crowdsourcing, protected from government instability and inflation.
Why Crypto advertising matters
With Tesla accepting Bitcoin as payment in 2021 and payment processors like Visa, Mastercard and Paypal working towards normalizing the use of crypto on their platforms, there is no doubt that cryptocurrencies are here to stay—at least for the foreseeable future. Amid worries of increasing inflation and rising prime interest rates in North America, it is no surprise that just about everyone is talking about crypto. And consumers have a lot to choose from—as of March 2022 there are 18,000 cryptocurrencies in existence (Source: Investopedia). There is a tremendous opportunity for brands in the crypto business to turn their company into a household name, provided they can create the right messaging and capture the attention of crypto enthusiasts in an ever increasingly crowded marketplace.
With that being said, let’s look at our list of the Most Viewed Video Ads for Crypto over the last year.
Most Viewed Video Ads: Cryptocurrency
| Rank | Brand | Campaign | Release date | Total views |
| 1 | Crypto.com | Fortune Favours the Brave | 10/28/2021 | 87,196,596 |
| 2 | FTX | Don’t Miss Out | 02/13/2022 | 58,735,001 |
| 3 | Crypto.com | Moment of Truth | 02/11/2022 | 43,659,939 |
| 4 | eToro | Flying Your Way | 02/08/2022 | 18,199,928 |
| 5 | Crypto.com | PSG Partnership: What’s your game plan? | 09/09/2021 | 12,355,000 |
| 6 | Crypto.com | Twitch Rivals Partnership | 11/03/2021 | 2,900,000 |
| 7 | FTX | Tom Brady is In. Are you? | 09/08/2021 | 1,806,292 |
| 8 | Binance | Breakfast Binance Card | 05/30/ 2021 | 1,800,000 |
| 9 | Crypto.com | Derivatives Race | 03/04/2021 | 1,600,000 |
| 10 | Crypto.com | Try on the new UFC fight kit with our Instagram AR filter | 07/08/2021 | 1,500,000 |
*Data collected by AcuityAds’ True Reach™ insights platform from February 7th 2021 – March 23rd 2022
Key insights
1. Targeting investors with financial FOMO
Utilizing the fear of missing out is a well-established tactic employed all across the advertising spectrum, but it seems to be a mainstay of crypto advertising. The second ad in our list is a great example of this trend, as it is even titled “Don’t miss out”. Given that some experts believe that Bitcoin could surge to $100,000 this year, it’s entirely possible that the fear of missing out is completely warranted in this case.
2. Featuring the best and brightest of celebrity influencers
Almost all of the ads in our top ten list featured some kind of celebrity or influencer, indicating how important influencer marketing has become to crypto brands. The caliber of celebrities that are featured in crypto advertising, such as basketball star Lebron James and movie star Matt Damon also gives credence to the idea that there is a lot of money to be made in cryptocurrency.
3. Adopting new marketing tactics
From Twitch partnerships to AR filters, many Crypto brands are more than willing to adopt new marketing tactics in order to get their message across. This is partly due to the strict regulations around crypto advertising, but it also demonstrates that Crypto brands can still capture audience attention without going through the more “traditional” channels of advertising like television and radio.
Are you considering crypto advertising?
If you’ve been following the ads in our list, you know that the rules and regulations surrounding crypto advertising can be difficult to navigate, no matter the size of your business. Find out how illumin™ can help you navigate the crypto landscape and target, engage and convert online consumers like never before.
About True Reach™ insights platform
Increase total views and time spent on your video campaigns without increasing advertising spend. Our proprietary True Reach™ technology harnesses all publicly available view data on social platforms to track real-time performance and enable decision-making that optimizes your Share of Attention™.
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