The Super Bowl and NFTs have a history, and the latest buzz is around the DigiDaigaku ad. Though there were not many blockchains and NFT ads this year, the Gabriel Leydon-led project failed to make much of an impact. Twitter users exclaim that this was a moment to break through to massive audiences about the state of web3 today, and yet just ended up being a huge disappointment. So, what happened with DigiDaigaku at the Super Bowl?
DigiDaigaku NFT Super Bowl Ad: What Happened?
At Superbowl 57, DigiDaigaku broke headlines for being the only NFT ad on the big stage. But the celebrations were short-lived. The ad featured a QR code that, when scanned on air, directs users to claim one of 10,000 free digital collectibles. The ad by the NFT game was set to be “the largest minting event ever.” Problems arose once the ad went live, and NFT Twitter hand-delivered L’s to the project.
Due to technical glitches, only a few people were able to mint the collectibles. A whole bunch of other Twitter users stated that the QR code simply led them to the Twitter account of DigiDaigaku & Limit Break founder Gabriel Leydon. This was actually the result of the flawed DigiDaigaku website redirecting to the founder’s Twitter account after the site failed to load. The people who were supposed to receive a free Ethereum NFT, got diverted instead to Gabriel’s official Twitter account. Whereas the free minters flipped the NFT for hundreds of dollars.
The company claims that it paid $6.5 million to Super Bowl for the ad placement. NFT Twitter retaliated and commented about the massive missed opportunity at hand for the web3 gaming giant. Moreover, Gabriel Leydon also tweeted out the link to the free mint before the actual ad went live. This further led people to believe that this was just an overtly expensive ‘engagement farming’ technique. Additionally, users also claimed the onboarding process itself was difficult to get into.
DigiDaigaku’s Missed Opportunities
The DigiDaigaku ad displays 3D animated protagonists going after a QR code for most of the 30 seconds total ad. To clarify, the ad led to users who could only access the mint via an Ethereum wallet. Leydon however, remained positive about the move. “I don’t know what they were expecting, but Digi did exactly what we said it was going to do.” he stated in a DigiCult Twitter space.
OpenSea data suggests that the NFTs were selling for around 0.5 ETH following the mint. Moreover, the prices have fluctuated ever since. The floor price for a DigiDaigaku NFT is currently 0.265 ETH. The ups and downs in price could be due to Gabriel Leydon’s string of tweets. He tweets that a new set of 5,000 NFTs are to be distributed to the public. Interested collectors may register themselves on the official website and retweeting one of his tweets.
