It was just a few years ago, but it feels like an age since the Crypto Bowl, aka Super Bowl LVI, when the extracurricular conversation, i.e., the non-football conversation, centered around the cryptocurrency adverts that complemented the game. It was a signal that the crypto industry had hit the mainstream, or at least, that it was attempting to penetrate it.
Today, the “Crypto Bowl” is often derided outside of the crypto industry, with critics keen to point out that some of the adverts, such as the FTX ad featuring Larry David, led to lawsuits. It‘s been fashionable in recent years to deride the Crypto Bowl, with many sneering pieces written describing it as the height of a bubble. Of course, some of the criticism is valid – look what happened to FTX not long after. Yet, at the same time, there may be some revisionism at play.
The Crypto Bowl Was Not An Augur Of Doom
For example, Futurism posted an article ahead of Super Bowl LIX (2025), talking about how the crypto bubble burst after that 2022 Super Bowl, overlooking the fact that One Bitcoin was worth about $40K at the “Crypto Bowl” and close to $100K three years later. Not really a strong argument for a bubble bursting.
At Super Bowl LX, which takes place on February 8, fans will be more concerned with the game and their football bets than the industries the adverts come from, but there will be some scrutiny on what those adverts say about society. In a sense, it’s like a historical record of the zeitgeist.
Indeed, that’s where the idea of the Super Bowl bubble comes from: Back in 2000, Super Bowl XXXIV showcased loads of adverts from web startups, i.e., companies that exemplified the Dot.com boom – and eventual bust. It’s true that several of the companies posting ads did go bust, but it’s not as if the idea of having online businesses went with them.
AI Companies Will Feature Heavily At Super Bowl LX
For Super Bowl LX and, indeed, Super Bowl LIX last year, the focus is on AI companies. We expect the likes of OpenAI to make a splash, Gemini, too, and perhaps the company providing the fuel (chips) for the AI boom, Nvidia. Perhaps a few years from now, OpenAI is a bust, but to talk about some curse of the Super Bowl is wide off the mark.
And here’s where the analysis goes wrong: The Super Bowl tends to mix its adverts with established brands – Budweiser, for example – and those brands and industries that are seen as hot. That’s why you get “Crypto Bowls” and “Dot.com Super Bowls.” But, like so many sectors, the early days of those hot industries are fraught with peril as brands vie for success. It’s for that reason you don’t use Ask Jeeves or Yahoo Search today, and it’s for that reason you don’t trade crypto on FTX or hold Luna tokens.
Crypto hasn’t gone away, and we don’t think AI will go away either. So, if looking back at Super Bowl LX after the AI crash (which feels inevitable), looking at the correlation with Super Bowl adverts feels way off. It’s just the natural rise and fall of industry and the supporting markets. It’s as much a part of the Super Bowl as the football itself.
