FTX got the nature of Larry David completely wrong. He is an enormously successful, extremely wealthy man who, subconsciously, all of his fans love to cheer on and with whom they agree. Larry is socially awkward, but in a way people envy -- he goes right up to hypocrites and challenges them to their face. You don't stay on air for 10+ seasons without being the protagonist hero the audience wishes they could be. He is not, in any way, a buffoon or an idiot. But the takeaway impression from the ad is Larry David saying "naaah". That's it -- that's what people remember. Just throwing a tag up there, "don't be like Larry" isn't going to flip an internal emotion people have held for two decades. The affinity people have for "Larry David" the character or Larry David the person is far too large for that.

Even in the focal point of the commercial itself, LD is the alpha with the office, the desk, the awards, the guy being pitched to... and FTX expects me to instead side with a random nerd with a cell phone? Oh, and the call to action is terrible -- FTX is hardly even mentioned. I would bet 9 out of 10 regular Joe's have no idea who the Larry David ad was for.

postscript - the ad could have been saved, if the pitch was delivered by someone familiar, with equal stature and affinity. Because we always see Larry arguing with his closest circle -- and because they are also wealthy and successful (which, subconsciously, provides credibility). If it was Cheryl trying to get him to invest? Definitely. Leon? 100%. Jeff? Maybe. Richard Lewis? I think it would have worked great. Ted Danson? Possibly, hard to tell how that would go emotionally. Jerry, Jason or Julia? Could have been amazing. But some random guy with zero credibility? It's just a fatal error, self-imposed, no way around it.