Coinbase’s Super Bowl Shenanigans

Ah, the Super Bowl: a platform for record-breaking ads, hot takes on questionable snacks, and heart-pounding commercial breaks. This year, Coinbase took a shot at fame with a QR code that bounced around the screen like it was training for the Olympics. But what started as a marketing home run has quickly spiraled into a battle of creative credit on social media.

The QR Code That Bounced into History

Coinbase’s ad, running a cool 60 seconds, started the party off with nostalgia, mimicking those good old DVD screensavers we all know and love. When users took the 21st-century plunge and scanned the code, they were greeted with a promotional Bitcoin giveaway page. Sounds fun, right?

Cue the Twitter Drama

The drama kicked off with a tweetstorm from Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO. In what can only be described as a corporate version of “not it,” Armstrong proudly hailed his internal team, noting, “They finally agreed on a QR code, and it turned out great!” It seemed like a run-of-the-mill praise post until Kristen Cavallo, CEO of The Martin Agency, dashed in with a comment that felt like a mic drop.

Agency Grievances: Who Gets the Credit?

Cavallo argued that her agency sparked the inspiration for the ad during presentations back in August and October, claiming a running theme of floating QR codes. What the audience witnessed as a Coinbase miracle, she asserted, was born out of her agency’s creative brainchild, effectively throwing down a creative gauntlet.

Clarifications and Culpabilities

Armstrong, taking a moment to clarify, noted that while they didn’t collaborate with traditional ad agencies, he owes some recognition to their partnered creative firm, which handled everything from the creative process to music clearances. You know, all those fancy details that turn a good idea into a commercial masterpiece.

Multiple Agencies, Multiple Stories

Then came Kate Rouch, Coinbase’s chief marketing officer, adding her two cents. She pointed out that while several agencies proposed QR-coded concepts, none matched the vision that Coinbase sought. It’s a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen—resulting only in a heaping plate of confusion.

The Takeaway: A QR Code Conundrum

So, where does this leave us? In a Twitter thread infused with creativity, we see a breakdown of how an iconic Super Bowl ad might not just be about the commercial itself but also about the layers of credits, rights, and creative sparks that ignite a campaign. Seriously, next year they should have a roundtable pre-game show dedicated to the origins of Super Bowl ads to ensure everyone gets their due props.