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- In a Super Bowl where many advertisers took commercials to star-studded extremes, one ad took a... different route.
- Coinbase's ad for its cryptocurrency exchange site featured one long shot of a QR code floating around the screen like a classic screensaver that slowly changed color. If you immediately took to Google to figure out what that was, you're not alone. Google Trends says it became a breakout search.
- If you didn't scan the code quickly enough to solve the "mystery," it links to a page on Coinbase's website promising $15 in free Bitcoin to those who sign up within a certain time window. At the time of the ad Sunday evening, about 44 hours were left on the clock.
- After the commercial ran Twitter was curious what that was all about.
- "I think I just bought Bitcoin through Coinbase. Anyone else?#Superbowl," tweeted one user.
- "QR Code bouncing around my TV screen for 30 second Coinbase commercial is THE most annoying so far, chimed in another.
- Barstool Sports tweeted this, "Coinbase Spent Millions Of Dollars On Their QR Screensaver Commercial Just For Their Website To Immediately Crash."