To introduce its new social feature, Squads, as the new NFL season gets underway, Polymarket rolled out a multi-spot campaign stuffed full of celebrities and star athletes, led by NBA great LeBron James.
"People are constantly debating what's going to happen next with their friends and sharing predictions in group chats," said Travis VanderZanden, Polymarket’s chief growth officer, in a statement. "With Squads, we're bringing the conversation and trading together so friends can follow the events they care about and make their predictions in one place. No better time to start than right before football season kicks off."
Squads allows users to create private groups and invite friends to join them, chat amongst themselves inside the app, share positions and combos, see what everyone in the group is trading and trade alongside them.
The spots, produced by Stagwell boutique marketing agency Today on the Moon and directed by Peter Berg of Friday Night Lights fame, tap into the chaos of a Wall Street trading floor – à la Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street – to make the campaign’s point.
In “Welcome to Polymarket HQ,” James enters the office from the elevator – with floors marked with Polymarket’s different trading areas – while John Leguizamo (The Odyssey) launches a football to former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who is promptly tackled in the middle of the office. Celebs like Alexandra Daddario (The White Lotus, Mayfair Witches), director and massive New York sports fan Spike Lee and WNBA trailblazer Sue Bird look on while placing their own bets. Yankees legend Derek “The Captain” Jeter even shows up, greeting James with a very complicated hand routine.
In “Trade the Chaos of Football,” actor and comedian Craig Robinson exhorts live-trading during football games. The spot goes on to enact that chaos, with Manning calling plays, former University of Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops providing guidance from the sidelines, and former NFL running back Reggie Bush sprinting through the office, yelling “cover me, I’m trading in!”
Things get a little calmer in “Breathe In, Trade Out,” in which Robinson encourages former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman to trade out of the defense, while Daddario gives the Super Bowl winner a hard time for it.
“I don’t even know who I am anymore,” Sherman wails after taking Robinson’s advice.
In “Eli’s Squad,” Manning tries to recruit people to his new squad on Polymarket so they can all trade together. But it’s harder than it seems for Manning to get new members on board:
While the campaign focuses on football, James has taken some heat for working for Polymarket – an active facilitator of sports betting – while still playing for the NBA. This season, James moved to the Philadelphia 76ers and took the NBA’s minimum salary – $8 million for two years – in order to allow the team to build a roster with the best chance of winning the NBA Finals before the 41-year-old finally retires. With a $15 million payout, James makes more money as a Polymarket spokesperson than he does playing for the NBA.
READ MORE: Little Black Book
