“Base is for everyone even for pimps” messaging.

We either luv it or hate.
Most call idiotic & cringe.
It’s not that new tho.
Not that dumb as u think.

It’s classic transgression.
The most dangerous tool in art/cinema & marketing.
A virality weapon.
And it kinda works.

Here’s why it is evil-genius..🧵

First off: this is not just about taste.
Not branding for aesthetics.
Not a “cool ad.”
Not playing safe like usual Web3 marketing.
It’s a deliberate provocation.

@jessepollak  ain’t selling style, he’s buying mindspace.
Implanting Base across every corner even if you hate it.

@base builder #001; onchain cities w/ OAK & city3

Anyone remember Benetton’s AIDS & death ads?

A real photo of a man in his last moments with his family, was branded w/ the Benetton logo, used in an ad to sell clothes.

From the times, AIDS certainly seemed an issue no one, incl. the US govt wanted to face or talk about.

Provocative and transgression campaigns aren’t meant to feel comfy.

They’re about breaking the norm.

In cinema, a go-to tool for challenging your morals then hold the mirror.

Check this 3min vid essay on the master of transgression: Reygadas.

The best campaigns in history weren’t also safe.

Remember that pic in my 1st post?

Diesel’s “BE STUPID” campaign. Got banned but tripled sales.

Calvin Klein got FBI heat for pushing limits.
Flopped, but became cultural gospel.

Gotta show the worst, recent one actually: Balenciaga.

So sometimes it goes very wrong.
That’s the risk with this approach.

High risk, high reward.

So today, Jesse & Base’s play?

Make Base feel alive.

Embrace coin-as-message.
Embrace meme-as-message.
Embrace transgression-as-message.

Get people to react, not just use.
Degens iterate the campaign.
You can hate it ofc.
But as critics, we do the marketing here as well.

And it’s working. For now.

CT’s amplifying the message.
People iterating it in their own take.
Jesse’s on 7/24: pods, replies, everywhere, communicating.
Virality & attention is max rn.

But ofc attention != adoption and actual usage.

Time will tell.

And surely we don’t gotta like the approach. It’s likely that it may flop.

But if you care about attention architecture; you, me should study it. 

In this market rn, whoever controls the story usually shift it.

And this is one way of viral storytelling.

In 1995, people also hated Diesel’s ads.

They still became the most iconic brand of the decade.

As it may flop, but sometimes, high-stakes plays win the timeline.