FTX and MLB star Shohei Ohtani launch new campaign

The Official Cryptocurrency Exchange brand of the MLB is playing a bit of name game to lead off Opening Day.

FTX’s latest national campaign featuring All-Star pitcher and batter Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, The Great Cryptohtani, highlights the similarities between all the ways people can trade on the exchange and the dual-threat phenom’s talents.

Since FTX didn’t get a chance to offer up a nickname for Ohtani when he first asked in December of 2017, it’s getting a late entrant to the masses.
The American League MVP was announced as a global FTX ambassador in November of 2021, with Ohtani taking stake in FTX and being compensated entirely in crypto.

“Shohei isn’t just an athletic force, he’s a first-mover for financial autonomy” shares FTX Co-Founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, on the brand’s latest sports marketing play. “To truly shake up the future of finance, we know our exchange can’t be one-dimensional.”

FTX – The Great Cryptohtani

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Matt Aselton of Arts & Sciences directed the campaign. He previously directed You In and The Trade for FTX. Ohtani was captured on a green screen from Arizona while the rest was shot in LA, with Ohtani stitched in through post-production.

“Crypto has proven over and over again that it isn’t just a fad. It’s here to stay for the long haul, and so are we,” shares FTX Head of Marketing Nathaniel Whittemore. “Our network of partners, including Major League Baseball and Shohei Ohtani, create opportunities for us to introduce new people to crypto and to give them resources to learn about an industry we think will be an increasingly important part of the future.”

Whittemore says FTX will continue expanding the set of safe, regulated products it offers to boost confidence in the category. He points to another recent campaign featuring Steph Curry, created in partnership with Colormatics, which acts as a gateway to a library loaded with quick-hit explainers and educational resources produced in collaboration with some of TikTok’s influential finance creators on various need-to-know crypto and financial topics.