The Bored Ape Yacht Club, Dogecoin, cryptobros, stablecoin, the Disaster Girl NFT—recent years have seen the emergence and growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens, which have generated enormous wealth for a select few but left many people both puzzled and intrigued. In May of 2022, Madonna announced her collaboration with Beeple, the digital artist whose collection of images was paired with an NFT that sold for $69 million in cryptocurrency at a Christie’s auction (their first NFT sale) in 2021. Their collaboration is one of the many partnerships springing up between celebrities and the world of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, with crypto boosters such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Jimmy Fallon, Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, and other highly visible celebrities participating in paid endorsements for these digital assets or merely signaling the worth of these assets via personal purchase. The relationship between these celebrities and influencers and the crypto industry, as marketing scholars and advertisers point out, is a risky one, due to the speculative and volatile nature of these new forms of currency. This chapter examines the rhetorical dynamics driving the rise and fall of virtual currency and the impact of celebrity culture and branding on crypto campaigns.

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Virtual Currency and Real Influence: Celebrities and Crypto Campaigns

  • Kathleen M. Vandenberg

摘要

The Bored Ape Yacht Club, Dogecoin, cryptobros, stablecoin, the Disaster Girl NFT—recent years have seen the emergence and growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens, which have generated enormous wealth for a select few but left many people both puzzled and intrigued. In May of 2022, Madonna announced her collaboration with Beeple, the digital artist whose collection of images was paired with an NFT that sold for $69 million in cryptocurrency at a Christie’s auction (their first NFT sale) in 2021. Their collaboration is one of the many partnerships springing up between celebrities and the world of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, with crypto boosters such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Jimmy Fallon, Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, and other highly visible celebrities participating in paid endorsements for these digital assets or merely signaling the worth of these assets via personal purchase. The relationship between these celebrities and influencers and the crypto industry, as marketing scholars and advertisers point out, is a risky one, due to the speculative and volatile nature of these new forms of currency. This chapter examines the rhetorical dynamics driving the rise and fall of virtual currency and the impact of celebrity culture and branding on crypto campaigns.