Bitcoin ETF commercials have been all the rage this week. The latest one to grace the small screen, from fund manager VanEck, is chock full of bitcoin Easter eggs. VanEck is one of more than a dozen firms trying to get a spot bitcoin ETF out the door.
Born to Bitcoin. 🧡 pic.twitter.com/qYI3bmZDvC
— VanEck (@vaneck_us) December 29, 2023
The setting for the ad takes place in Pubkey, a New York-based bitcoin bar. Pubkey teased in a post on X that people could head to “the NOOK” in the bar to find some leftover swag.
“Just some tea-ser. All Bitcoiners in NYC need to make the pilgrimage to Pubkey if they haven’t checked it out yet,” VanEck posted in a follow-up tweet.
The commercial includes a number of bitcoin references, from the obviously displayed Bitcoiners Coffee from Lightning Koffee to a stack of 11 issues of Bitcoin Magazine.
A VanEck spokesperson confirmed to Blockworks that the skeleton to the left of the TV is named Tony Skeletonia. Pubkey owner Thomas Pacchia bought the figure with bitcoin in 2014.
Read more: As bitcoin ETF saga hits possible homestretch, here’s what to watch for
“He holds a single rose petal for Ross Ulbricht,” Pacchia said. Ulbricht is currently serving a double life sentence without parole for his role in creating the Silk Road online marketplace.
There’s a sign with “buy bitcoin” written on it. This is a reference to an audience member in the back of a 2017 hearing who held up a similar sign behind now-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Yellen, at the time, was the chair of the Federal Reserve.
Below the sign are two playing cards, a 2 and a 7. The cards are the worst hand in poker, and appear in reference to how many people have found bitcoin after being dealt a rough hand, according to VanEck.
There’s also a Real Bedford football club sticker. The team, chaired by crypto podcaster Peter McCormack, has been using bitcoin to turn the football club around. In late December, the club even offered Satoshi jerseys on its website.
The ad ends with the words “born to bitcoin.”
A VanEck spokesperson told Blockworks that the commercial is actually a teaser for a longer ad, yet to be released.
It is the latest from potential ETF issuers, and follows Bitwise and Hashdex — which have each released their own advertisements over the last month.
Read more: New Bitwise ad reflects expected bitcoin ETF marketing blitz
Each company has taken a different approach. Bitwise employed the most interesting man in the world, actor Jonathan Goldsmith. Goldsmith is best known for his Dos Equis ads. Bitwise has a few variations of the ad already floating around social media.
“You know what’s interesting these days?” Goldsmith asks the camera. “Bitcoin.”
A word to the wise, from a man of few words. #bitcoinisinteresting https://t.co/wantGiAIqJ pic.twitter.com/x5MPbElEev
— Bitwise (@BitwiseInvest) December 18, 2023
Hashdex’s newest ad, released on Dec. 28, shows an old clip of two people discussing the rise of personal computers towards the end of the last millennium.
“Understanding disruptive innovation takes time,” the ad tells viewers. “Bitcoin’s time has arrived.”
pic.twitter.com/fVndEbD0Ys
— Hashdex (@hashdex) December 28, 2023
Neither ad, however, includes as many bitcoin-specific references as VanEck’s. In preparation for the first ether futures ETFs, the company has launched a more crypto-native campaign called “Enter the Ether.”
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart believe that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to possibly approve ETFs in the week leading up to Jan. 10. There’s a firm deadline on Jan. 10 for the SEC to give Ark 21Shares an answer on their proposal.
