Crypto.com Recruits Eminem For NBA Playoff Game Commercial

Crypto.com has produced a new commercial with the famous rapper Eminem that’s due to showcase during the NBA playoffs this weekend.

The ad follows similar television marketing efforts from Coinbase, indicating that major sports leagues may be rewarming to the crypto industry.

Crypto.com’s New Sport Ad Campaign

As shared on the famous rapper’s Twitter page on Friday, the ad begins with a bird’s eye view of the Crypto.com Arena – the multi-purpose sports arena in downtown Los Angeles formerly known as the Staples Centre.

The arena is scheduled to host the basketball competition during the 2028 Summer Olympics, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers versus Denver Nuggets playoff game on Saturday, where its ad will first air.

“They ignored your potential, dissed your achievements, mocked your ambition… but it’s not the critic who counts, and you know that,” says Eminem as the ad’s narrator.

The commercial shows an MMA fighter in training before walking out to his UFC fight wearing a crypto.com jersey – another sports organization sponsored by the crypto exchange.

According to a press release, the ad will also be showcased during a Los Angeles Kings game in the NHL Playoffs, a Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix next month, and at upcoming UFC Fight Night and pay-per-view events.

“You know what it’s always been: inevitable,” the ad concludes. “Fortune favors the brave.”

Rival exchange Coinbase has published numerous ads in recent weeks showcasing crypto’s superiority as money using various pizza-related analogies.

Crypto Advertising: Matt Damon and Eminem

The commercial’s final catchphrase became an online meme when used in a 2021 Crypto.com commercial starring Matt Damon, which received major backlash at the time for comparing crypto investing to arctic exploration and landing on the moon.

The timing of its release roughly timed Bitcoin’s yearly top, and left the movie star with explaining to do after the asset’s price tanked 75% twelve months later.

Some followers were equally bearish on Eminem’s new ad appearance, with some dissing the rapper for “selling out,” and others thinking his ad means the market top is in.

“Crypto.com is an exchange base app & is completely different from the NFT thing he did with snoop,” wrote one commenter. “Crypto.com owns the Lakers arena and a plethora of other properties. This isn’t an ad for just crypto.”

Eminem has previously launched his own NFT collection and bought a popular “Bored Ape Yacht Club” (BAYC) NFT in 2021 for $462,000.