by The Super Bowl is not full of crypto ads this time, but there was a commercial for one NFT-Powered game with a QR code to scan to mint one of 10,000 free collectibles. The process didn’t quite work as expected for many viewers — but some of those who snagged the free NFT are flipping it for hundreds of dollars.
Web3 Gaming startup Limit Break said it Paid $6.5 million for the commercial that advertised for free ether NFT mint for its anime-inspired game project, DigiDaigaku. The animated commercial was built around a persistent QR code that, once scanned, would allow viewers to create (or generate and claim) a free NFT for the game.
Unfortunately, many viewers on Crypto Twitter said that simply by scanning the QR code, they were redirected to Twitter profile Gabriel Leydon, the co-founder and CEO of Limit Break. The website address encoded in the code redirects users to Leydon’s Twitter page after a few seconds, so some users may not have seen the website load initially before they were redirected.
“I dropped everything to watch the Super Bowl for a 30-second ad designed to bring generational wealth through a free coin.” tweeted pseudonymous crypto-Twitter personality ThreadGuy, “and all I got was an opportunity to follow a mfer on Twitter.”
Other criticized the move as a means of “engagement farming” on Leydon’s side. Some said Leydon tweeted the mint link before the commercial actually ran, while others complained that the minting process wasn’t easy enough – users needed an Ethereum wallet to claim the NFT, potentially affecting crypto Shuts out newcomers and mainstream viewers.
Brother why did you upset the TV viewers by airing this so early 😭
— tropoFarmer 🍌 (@tropoFarmer) February 12, 2023
“Dude literally paid millions for a Super Bowl ad to post the link on Twitter first and get the mass public excited about their first NFT experience.” tweeted Pseudonym YouTuber Popeye. “This could have been massive if it had been a super easy onboarding process with no wallet creation etc.”
There are many such complaints on Crypto Twitter – but Limit Break appears to have issued at least some of the promised 10,000 total Ethereum NFTs for this DigiDaigaku collection – and these free NFTs traded quickly in the secondary markets over the course of the Super Bowl.
According to the NFT marketplace OpenSea, the DigiDaigaku Dragon Eggs NFTs traded for over 0.5 ETH (over $750) right after minting, although the price has been bouncing and bouncing over the course of the game.
The reserve price – or the price of the cheapest listed NFT on a marketplace – fell to around 0.32 ETH (around $485) on OpenSea during the halftime show, but is currently back up to around 0.39 ETH (around $585 ) gone up. Trades worth around 912 ETH (over $1.3 million USD) have already changed hands since the trade was published.
The fluctuating price could be partly due to uncertainty about a second announced wave of Dragon Eggs NFTs. Leydon was tweet via a second chance coin for an additional 5,000 of the NFTs, which users can become eligible for by registering through the DigiDaigaku website and retweeting one of his tweets. It is unclear whether these NFTs are part of the original total of 10,000 or will be added to that number.
