Kiss of Death
“Kiss of Death” – a cartoon that illustrates how many celebrities got in over their head by associating closely with Sam Bankman-Fried.
The history of celebrities using their influence to sell products goes back to Roman gladiators championing wine and oil, but the rise in technology companies using celebrities as part of their marketing programs has taken endorsement payouts to another level.
Deals like Ashton Kutcher’s $10 Million agreement with Lenovo, jumped up with the arrival of crypto, such as FTX’s $50M paid to Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen and $35M to Steph Curry.
However, with the blow-up of FTX, many of the celebrity backers are now being held culpable for promoting the firm’s failed business model. Their fame is now center stage of the FTX trial with among the first pieces of evidence seen by jurors Wednesday were the 2022 Super Bowl ads promoting FTX as the “safest and easiest way to buy and sell crypto.”
One of the likely consequences is that crypto is going to find it hard to get any celebrity endorsements soon, and we should perhaps find out what has happened to crypto booster Paris Hilton’s two lap dogs called Crypto and Ether.
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