DigiDaigaku NFT Project Sends $6.5M Crypto Ad to Confused Super Bowl Audience
After last year’s crypto exchange Super Bowl announcement and subsequent market implosion, you’d think 2023’s Web3 campaign on the NFL’s biggest stage of the year would be non-existent, right? Mostly, but not completely.
During the preggers-Rihanna-and-commercial-packed extravaganza that was the Super Bowl halftime show, an awkwardly named, Ethereum-based NFT gaming project called DigiDaigaku strutted its wares to a likely mostly confused television audience.
As reported by Decrypt, the US$6.5 million ad, paid for by Web3 gaming startup Limit Break, featured a QR code designed for viewers to scan and imprint one of 10,000 free “digital collectibles”. (Shhh, don’t call them NFTs or non-fungible tokens.)
The thing is, though, things didn’t work out especially problem-free due to the fact that when the ad actually aired, the mint link had already been tweeted out by Gabriel Leydon, co-founder and CEO of Limit Break.
This meant that TV viewers trying to scan for a free NFT were largely led by thousands of Twitter-sweating, NFT-savvy degenerates.
Any intrigued Super Bowl viewers who wanted to participate were instead sent, via QR link, to Leydon’s Twitter page for a “last-chance” coin that involved the usual annoying “engagement-farming” re-tweeting and like- process (see below).
Confusion and irritation ensued…
Nevertheless, those who our quick enough off the blocks to grab one, might have done pretty well from free mint.
According to Decrypt, and data from NFT marketplace OpenSea, it is DigiDaigaku Dragon Eggs NFTs traded for more than 0.5 ETH (over US$750) not long after the mint.
At the time of writing, the NFT’s floor price is 0.37 ETH, which is still not too shabby at around 562 USD. Close to $1.5 million in sales volume has taken place since the commercial aired earlier today.
Leydon has been too tweeting about another chance for 5,000 of the DigiDaigaku NFTs, which again involves retweeting and other things. It is not super clear whether that mint is actually part of the original 10,000 collection, or an addition.
Whether or not this lone crypto ad is considered a success or a flop, it’s no bad thing that the cash-and-showboat arms race seen by some of the biggest players in the crypto world this time last year has now been shelved.
Maybe actual, real, organic and steady growth in the crypto industry without resorting to the fast-burning fuel of celebrity and sports endorsements could be the vibe of the year. If regulators and not-dead inflation/recession worries don’t kill sentiment too much, that is.
Rihanna song NFTs allow holders to earn when tracks are played
Speaking of Rihanna, who, as mentioned above, performed at this year’s NFL Super Bowl between the victorious Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles…she’s also in the NFT-related news.
Crypto startup Another block quickly sold 300 Rihanna-related NFTs for $210 each last week. The digital assets are particularly unique as they give owners a chance to win and keep a fraction of the singer’s B**ch Better Have My Money the song’s streaming royalties.
The platform works with rights holders – including artists, producers and writers – to dispose of a percentage of their streaming royalty rights, which can then be sold as fractional NFTs.
In this case, music producer Deputy, who collaborated with Kanye West and others to produce Rihanna’s aforementioned hit single from 2015, provided a small amount of streaming royalties for the song through the unique Web3 music platform.
The track has received nearly a billion streams across various music sharing platforms, according to a press release.
Each holder will receive “a portion of 0.0033% of streaming royalties” for the song, AnotherBlock stated. And holders are set to receive their first royalty payment on February 16, with further payments every six months.
The NFTs have some additional value-adding artistic sensibilities and utility to fans in addition to the “real legal contract” for royalties. And these include digital artwork, access to a gated Discord community as well as “real world events” and priority access to additional NFT releases.
All in all, this might be one of the most useful NFT collections we’ve seen so far.
