Several Indian celebrities were associated with cryptocurrency exchanges in October 2021, when cryptocurrency prices were soaring, endorsing investments in cryptocurrencies and also launching their non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that allowed fans to buy and trade in NFTs. Many exchanges partnered with celebrities to endorse cryptocurrencies and investment features because they believed endorsements from trusted personalities increased awareness and trust for investing in cryptocurrencies.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), a self-regulatory body of the advertising industry founded in 1985, issued guidelines on celebrity endorsement of cryptocurrencies in February 2022. They noticed that the returns on crypto investments were being compared to the returns on existing regulated products, such as gold. That was unjust. Furthermore, those advertisements did not emphasize the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.
In 2022, cryptocurrency prices plummeted, highlighting the risks and uncertainties of an unregulated instrument. Furthermore, according to some media reports last week, the capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance that celebrities be barred from endorsing cryptocurrencies. Let’s take a look at some of your favorite celebrities’ recent glitzy crypto advertisements.
CoinDCX, a cryptocurrency exchange, signed Ayushmann Khurrana in October 2021 to appear in their ad campaign ‘Future Yahi Hai’ (This is the future) and to address key concerns surrounding crypto investments and cryptocurrency myths. It aimed to educate millennial investors on how to invest in cryptocurrency in a ‘Simple and Safe’ manner. One of the advertisements featuring Ayushmann Khurrana has received 23K views on YouTube.
CoinSwitch Kuber, a cryptocurrency exchange, appointed Ranveer Singh as brand ambassador in October 2021. The crypto exchange hoped to capitalize on Ranveer Singh’s mass appeal, as well as his popularity among Gen Z and millennial investors, through this partnership. It advertised him in three ad movies for CoinSwitch Kuber’s ‘Kuch Toh Badlega’ campaign, which was established on the likelihood of change as one becomes a part of something bigger by entering the crypto world. Each of the ad films conveyed a different key feature of the exchange, such as the fact that investors can invest in Bitcoin with as little as Rs 100. Ranveer Singh’s first advertisement on YouTube has received 5.44 lakh views.
Salman Khan unveiled $GARI, a crypto-token launched by micro-content, short video application Chingari, on Twitter in October 2021, along with announcing his collaboration with the app as a brand ambassador for its NFT marketplace and token reward program. His tweet received 3,299 retweets, and Salman Khan has 44.1 million followers on Twitter. Following the launch with Salman Khan, they also promoted the Gari tokens reward program in leading print media.
Disha Patani, a Bollywood actress, endorsed the CoinDCX platform on social media and the CoinDCX YouTube channel. In the video, she talks about the CoinDCX investment platform and her experience investing in cryptocurrency through this exchange. CoinDCX has 106,000 subscribers on YouTube.
In November 2021, Bollywood veteran actor Shivaji Satam and actress Archana Puran Singh created advertisements for the Bitbns cryptocurrency exchange. They discussed the benefits and security of investing in cryptocurrencies through the Bitbns exchange in ad campaigns. It recommended Bitbns as the quickest and safest way to trade Bitcoins. Each of these ads has approximately 2,500 views on YouTube.
Anupam Kher, another veteran Bollywood actor, promoted a cryptocurrency on his YouTube channel. According to him, cryptocurrencies are emerging as a new asset class. He promoted the WazirX cryptocurrency exchange in the campaign, mentioning trading features, no hidden costs, and so on. He also advocated for investing in cryptocurrency through the WazirX exchange with just Rs 100. Anupam Kher’s YouTube channel has 17.7k subscribers.
Many investors bought cryptocurrencies for the first time in the last year or so, as crypto prices reached new highs almost every day. Cryptocurrency prices have now plummeted. That’s a big lesson for investors who fell for flashy cryptocurrency advertisements from their favorite Bollywood celebrities last year: do your own research and don’t follow the herd. Investors should avoid investing in cryptocurrencies if they do not understand how they work, according to financial planners.
