Polymarket Taps Kathryn Bigelow to Court a Wider Audience in Midterm Ad Blitz

The controversial prediction market’s first U.S. political campaign tackles grocery and gas prices as scrutiny of the industry grows

Controversial prediction market Polymarket is launching its first U.S. political campaign ahead of the midterm elections.

Polymarket brought on Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow, known for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, to helm two ads in its new national campaign, which debuts today (Oct. 14), three weeks before Election Day. The third spot was directed by Pantera, the Argentinian filmmaking trio comprising Brian Kazez, Pato Martinez, and Francisco Canton.

The campaign, produced by Smuggler, dramatizes three fictional scenarios tied to voter issues such as rising grocery and gas prices. In Bigelow’s first ad, a campaign worker becomes a whistleblower after making a scandalous late-night discovery about her congressman, while in another, a bachelorette party turns sour when the group is confronted with the soaring cost of living.

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Brittaney-Kiefer-2021

Brittaney Kiefer

Brittaney is Adweek's creative editor based in London.