The Story Of The Iconic Bitcoin Wizard
February 18, 2013 (1 BTC = $26)
Bitcoin subreddit moderator /u/theymos created a thread asking the community to submit ideas for a Reddit ad for /r/bitcoin. Within an hour of the request, /u/mavensbot introduced to the world an MS Paint drawing of the Magic Internet Money Wizard. Little did they know the influence it would soon have in not only growing the subreddit and becoming the most popular Reddit ad ever, but also being one of the key factors in the Bitcoin price exceeding $1000.
November 6, 2013 (1 BTC = $287)
The Magic Internet Money Reddit ad went live. The subreddit at the time had around 56,000 subscribers.
/r/bitcoin ad as seen on Reddit’s front page.
The pure simplistic design of the ad caught the eye of the Reddit users visiting the front page of the internet and peaked their curiosity. Traffic to the subreddit page grew. People educated themselves on this decentralized currency, saw the benefits, and began investing in it. By the end of the day, Bitcoin value reached over $300!
November 9, 2013 (1 BTC = $325)
South Park’s art department drafts their hand drawn flyer of Cartman, the Wizard King, that was to be used in episode 7 of season 17 titled Black Friday.
Source: Comedy Central
November 13, 2013 (1 BTC = $416)
The episode is aired and /r/Bitcoin users noticed that South Park paid homage to the Magic Internet Money ad.
Source: Comedy Central/South Park s17e07 Black Friday
Mere coincidence? I think not! Reddit was and still is one of the most popular websites in the USA. The chances that South Park’s creative team saw the ad and got inspired are very high.
Here is an in depth analysis and highly detailed comparison of both ads. The resemblance is uncanny.
In Idepth analysis and comparison.
November 29, 2013 (1 BTC = $1,132)
22 days after the ad was published, /r/bitcoin had ~74k subscribers, a 36% increase, and Bitcoin reaches a new record high. The world celebrates.
So you must be wondering how can I possibly attribute this Reddit ad as the reason the value of Bitcoin shot to the moon. First of all, the conversion rate of subscribers to /r/bitcoin prior to the ad was hovering around 0.018%, but thanks to the ad, it jumped to 2.753%. In the first 6 months after being published, the ad got 37B impressions. Redditors got the ball rolling, the staff at South Park caught on quickly, and soon did the media. Bitcoin was back in the spotlight as the price and hype began soaring.
The goal was not only to grow the subreddit’s community, but also bring awareness to Bitcoin and its magical properties. As a result, we saw the value jump from $287 to $1132 in just 22 days.
