Don’t Be Like Larry
FTX
FTX came to us with a straightforward brief: use the Super Bowl to get Americans off the sidelines and into crypto. To do that, we went straight at America's skepticism — by hiring America's foremost skeptic.
The spot featured Larry David traveling through history, dismissing every great invention of human civilization before turning his nose up at crypto. It was a bet that leaning into doubt was more persuasive than promising the moon. It turned out to be right, for reasons none of us anticipated.
By the end of the night, FTX was the most retweeted brand in the game and the most talked-about brand on Twitter after Pepsi's halftime show. All four major broadcast morning shows covered it the next day. By year's end, FTX profits were up 1000%.
Then, nine months later, FTX collapsed in one of the most spectacular corporate frauds in American history — which made Larry's skepticism feel prophetic and made the commercial relevant all over again. In the years since, Larry David publicly credited the commercial as the inspiration for his new HBO series, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, debuting summer 2026.
It's the best-performing ad I have ever made, for a company that no longer exists, that inspired a television show. Which is either the strangest creative legacy in Super Bowl history, or proof that a great idea has no expiration date.
The spot featured Larry David traveling through history, dismissing every great invention of human civilization before turning his nose up at crypto. It was a bet that leaning into doubt was more persuasive than promising the moon. It turned out to be right, for reasons none of us anticipated.
By the end of the night, FTX was the most retweeted brand in the game and the most talked-about brand on Twitter after Pepsi's halftime show. All four major broadcast morning shows covered it the next day. By year's end, FTX profits were up 1000%.
Then, nine months later, FTX collapsed in one of the most spectacular corporate frauds in American history — which made Larry's skepticism feel prophetic and made the commercial relevant all over again. In the years since, Larry David publicly credited the commercial as the inspiration for his new HBO series, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, debuting summer 2026.
It's the best-performing ad I have ever made, for a company that no longer exists, that inspired a television show. Which is either the strangest creative legacy in Super Bowl history, or proof that a great idea has no expiration date.