Bouncing QR Code Commercial Proves Successful, Causing a Coinbase Outage

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Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) is suffering from success. A primetime Super Bowl ad doesn’t sound like it’d be a source of woes; but, the company is experiencing its share of issues following its much talked about bouncing QR code commercial. As a result of the ad spot, COIN stock is being hindered more than it is being helped.

The app for Coinbase (COIN) displayed on an iPhone screen.
Source: OpturaDesign / Shutterstock.com

As the first half of the Super Bowl match-up between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals wound down, an ad break ended up stealing investors’ attention. Of course, much of the night featured crypto exchanges flexing their muscles; as InvestorPlace’ s Joel Baglole reports, FTX’s Larry David ads brought much attention to the platform in its own right. Coinbase, however, took a much different approach to their biggest moment yet.

Coinbase’s ad demanded 60 seconds of viewers’ time, and it featured almost zero branding. For most of the ad spot, a QR code bounced around viewers’ screens, before ending with the brief flash of a Coinbase logo. The code, once scanned, took viewers to the company’s newest promotion. The promotion promised $15 in free Bitcoin (BTC-USD) to new users, as well as a chance to win from a multi-million dollar prize pool.

Bouncing QR Code Proved Wildly Successful, Prompting Exchange Outage

The Super Bowl is an event that trends toward grandiosity, huge cameos and epic ad campaign teasers. Yet, Coinbase stood out from the norm. The low-production commercial ended up driving huge chatter across the social media space. Coinbase’s bouncing QR code commercial drove intrigue, but unfortunately, it couldn’t support its own success.

So many people gave into Coinbase’s alternative marketing, scanning the QR code and ultimately trying to sign up for the platform, that the site couldn’t handle it. The exchange floor actually crashed as a result of the commercial, with Coinbase spokespeople saying traffic was higher than they had ever encountered.

The moment is huge for the entire crypto industry; indeed, Super Bowl LVI is the first to feature a grip of crypto-centric commercial spots. As the only publicly-traded exchange on Wall Street, Coinbase is a clear leader of this burgeoning space. The spot’s purpose is to help usher in a new era of trading, literally putting the opportunity to start crypto trading in front of the faces of over 100 million people. The crash, then, is a huge thorn in the side of the moment.

And investors are not missing out on the opportunity to point out the irony of the moment. Many are pointing out the fact that Coinbase spent between $14 million-$16 million on the coveted ad space. They are also noting the fact that it was not equipped to handle the expected result of the ad.

In any event, the commercial obviously has people talking about crypto today. So, the mission is accomplished by Coinbase’s standards. As COIN stock gets into the new week of trading, shares are up 2% to start the morning.

On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Brenden Rearick is a Financial News Writer for InvestorPlace’s Today’s Market team. He mainly covers digital assets and tech stocks, with a focus on crypto regulation and DeFi.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2022/02/bouncing-qr-code-commercial-proves-successful-causing-a-coinbase-outage/.

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