You are now entering Ad Space, a realm of commercials, brought before us so we might examine how they work, and discuss why we both love and hate them so. So it is written …

The Product:
Kalshi

The Promotion:
Watch Video Here

The Pitch:
Always defy the odds! Like we did, when we commissioned this incredibly uninformative commercial.

I don’t know if you folks reading this have heard of Kalshi before. If you haven’t, then just based on this commercial, do you have any idea what the hell it is?

Clearly a lot of effort was put into this ad, with big visuals and stirring music and the whole “Rah! Rah!” vibe it’s got going on. But, somehow, they forgot to mention what it was they’re actually selling. Closest they come is that tiny bit of text at the end saying “Trade On Anything”.

Well, this ad got me so confused, I had to look up just what this “Kalshi” was. Turns out, it’s an online betting service. Most of their business is sports betting, but apparently they really do let people gamble on anything, even stuff like the weather or (quite controversially) the outcome of elections.

Now, with that information … I’m kinda bothered by this ad. Okay, a commercial encouraging people to gamble is always gonna feel a little skeevy. But when it’s not just telling them to gamble, but telling them to take risky, hundred-to-one longshots? Heavily implying that, if they don’t wager against the odds, they’re cowards, traitors to the risk-taking heroes of the past?

Sus, man. Super sus.