Solana's new ad 'American innovation, not gender innovation' sparks controversy and quickly delists

Solana released an ad emphasizing the revival and technological innovation of the United States, but because the content involved gender and cultural issues, it triggered a strong rebound from the encryption community, and was eventually taken down in just a few hours. (Synopsis: Dragonfly Partner: Missed $0.04 Solana seed round investment, the worst mistake of my life) (Background added: The death and life of the super public chain: Ethereum, Solana and BNB Chain three-chain comparison) Solana, one of the hottest public chains in this bull market, recently released an advertisement in X that advertised American revival and technological innovation, but it was fiercely criticized by the encryption community because it involved sensitive social issues. Finally delist in just a few hours. Was this turmoil deliberately creating a topic, or was it a serious misjudgment by the marketing team? Content: Patriotic narrative vs. culture wars? Solana's ad, titled "America is Back—Time to Accelerate," was released Monday and attracted more than 1.4 million views in a short period of time, but then exploded with controversial content. In the advertising clip, a young man named "America" said during psychological counseling: I want to invent new technology, I don't want to invent "new gender". This sentence is currently relatively sensitive, and is regarded by some as a political statement on gender diversity issues, causing strong dissatisfaction among these people. Critics argue that Solana's brand image with technological innovation at its core is tantamount to asking for trouble by using a political narrative in its advertising. Solana has not officially made an official statement, but the ad has been removed. However, netizens have already archived the video and re-uploaded it on X, which continues to ferment the controversy. The Solana marketing video is available on @zora — David Hoffman (@TrustlessState) March 18, 2025 Community reaction: Bad reviews, Solana's image damaged? The reaction of the Encryption community to the ad has been overwhelming, with little support and criticism ranging from "embarrassing" to "divisive." Anneri van der Merwe, Head of Product at Base, criticized: "The ad is not only uncomfortable, but also deliberately caters to specific ethnic groups, completely contradicting the "for everyone" image that Solana has tried to create in the past. Adam Cochran, partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, put it more bluntly: "The problem with this ad is not only the content, but this deliberately antagonistic atmosphere, which does not help the brand image. In addition, there are opinions that Solana may be using "anger marketing" tactics to attract followers by creating controversy. The problem is that while this approach can generate short-term traffic, it can seriously damage a brand's long-term credibility, especially in global markets like the encryption industry. Are the values of the Solana Foundation wavering? Part of the reason this ad sparked a bigger Rebound is that the Solana Foundation has emphasized inclusion and diversity in the past. At last year's Solana Breakpoint conference in Singapore, officials also explicitly set out rules against gender discrimination, even emphasizing that violators may be expelled. However, the content of this ad has led the outside world to question whether Solana has shifted in values. More interestingly, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko also seems to distance himself from the ad on X, hinting that he disagrees with the marketing strategy this time, and the post says: The previous Maren ad is better. This makes the outside world speculate whether this advertisement is the result of the foundation or the "single attack" of a marketing team. In any case, the end result was that Solana was forced to withdraw urgently to avoid further damage to the brand's image. In the short term, this incident may not have a direct impact on Solana's technology development or market price, but in the long term, this public relations storm may weaken the community's trust in Solana, especially among some investors and developers who value multiple values. Investors who hold $SOL have also expressed concern about whether the foundation's actions will affect its future development. In addition, this controversial ad plunged Solana into the vortex of the American culture war, further challenging the traditional line of "cross-party cooperation" in the encryption industry. Solana's mistake reminds all Block Chain projects of an important lesson: the core values of the encryption industry should be technological innovation and openness and inclusiveness, rather than being involved in the confrontation between political and social issues, otherwise the gains will only outweigh the losses. Related reports The world's first "SUI ETF" submitted to the SEC for review, Solana futures officially landed on the CME to pave the way for SOL ETF approval The death and life of the super public chain: Ethereum, Solana and BNB chain three-chain comparison Behind the undervalued Solana Decentralized Finance: How to break the "ecological internal friction" between high-yield stakes and lending agreements? Solana's new ad "American Innovation, Not Gender Innovation" is hot! The article was first published in BlockTempo "The Most Influential Block Chain News Media".