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Polymarket has drawn criticism on X after a photo of its fortune-cookie advertisement attracted more than 500,000 views.<\/p>\n
\n Summary<\/span>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jared Holt shared<\/a> the image in an Oct. 24 post, showing a purple promotional slip held beside an opened fortune cookie.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, we paid for a fortune cookie ad.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The slip carries Polymarket\u2019s name, logo and a partially visible QR code. Holt expressed frustration with the advertisement in his accompanying comment.<\/p>\n Holt\u2019s post showed 501,600 views when captured in a screenshot. A separate post showed an account named Maths Cat quoting<\/a> the post and directing a hostile response at the prediction-market company.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope you file for bankruptcy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The quote-post displayed 492 views. Both screenshots show the same photograph, so they document reactions to one image rather than separate examples of the advertising placement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Neither post identifies the restaurant, the cookie supplier, or the location where the photograph was taken. The visible portion of the slip gives no campaign dates, spending figures, or information about how many cookies carry the advertisement.<\/p>\n The QR code is partly obscured by the cookie, leaving its destination unverified. Polymarket\u2019s involvement is stated on the printed advertisement, but no company announcement confirming the campaign\u2019s distribution or commercial terms was established during the source checks.<\/p>\n OpenFortune has promoted fortune cookies as an advertising channel for consumer brands, although its involvement in the Polymarket placement remains unconfirmed.<\/p>\n In a published account<\/a> of an interview with OpenFortune\u2019s head of brand partnerships, Dylan Feinstein, interviewer Stuart Crowley listed Duolingo, Hulu, Capital One and MrBeast among the company\u2019s advertisers. Crowley described a format that keeps a fortune on one side of the paper and places advertising on the reverse.<\/p>\n Cryptocurrency companies have used the format before. In July 2022, The Wall Street Journal documented<\/a> FTX advertisements inside fortune cookies and identified OpenFortune as the company behind those placements.<\/p>\n The newspaper reported that the FTX promotions appeared on the reverse of slips carrying lucky numbers. OpenFortune told the publication that consumers sharing photographs of the advertisements formed part of the appeal of the format.<\/p>\n Polymarket\u2019s other marketing efforts have included a partnership teaser featuring LeBron James. As crypto.news previously reported, James teased a Polymarket partnership<\/a> on Sep. 5 through a 14-second video showing him entering a fictional company headquarters and selecting a sports floor.<\/p>\n CNBC reported at the time that the planned campaign would initially focus on American football, citing a person familiar with the plans. The September account did not establish compensation, ownership interests or the duration of the agreement.<\/p>\n Earlier promotions attracted questions about sponsorship disclosures. A June 5 account of a Politico investigation described payments to social influencers<\/a> totaling at least $350,000 over a 14-month period.<\/p>\n Politico attributed the payments to a personal PayPal account belonging to Polymarket chief marketing officer Matthew Modabber. Its review identified more than 490 posts mentioning the platform by paid creators, without disclosures identifying those posts as advertisements.<\/p>\n A company spokesperson told Politico that collaboration with creators formed part of Polymarket\u2019s normal business practices, while declining to discuss the disclosure policies or use of the personal account.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Polymarket\u2019s cookie ad attracts critical reactions<\/h2>\n
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Fortune-cookie advertising predates the Polymarket photo<\/h2>\n
Polymarket\u2019s promotions include sports and paid creators<\/h2>\n
New York officials have examined prediction-market marketing<\/h2>\n