for the cryptocurrency-trading platform FTX that has been airing throughout the NBA playoffs. It features superstar Steph Curry going through a goofy version of his day—eating cereal, making pasta, carving an ice sculpture—while narrator Shaquille O’Neal insists that Curry knows everything there is to know about crypto. An exasperated Curry repeatedly denies it. “I’m not an expert—and I don’t need to be,” Curryinto the camera, holding up the FTX app on his phone.
Alas, the honesty of the Curry ad is offset by its cynicism, which sets a new standard for an industry that has plenty to spare. The crypto advertising blitz started in earnest late last year, rising along with the price of digital assets. The Super Bowl infamously featured several big-budget commercials from the industry. The most noteworthy was an FTX ad featuring the comedian Larry David dismissing crypto as a passing fad, with the kicker, “Don’t be like Larry.