Limit Break, an upcoming Web3 gaming company, recently aired a QR code ad during the first commercial break of the Super Bowl. The company planned to give away tens of thousands of free-to-own NFTs from its DigiDaigaku Dragon series.
The Super Bowl ad displayed a QR code that viewers could scan to claim a DigiDaigaku Dragon Egg NFT. The million-dollar Super Bowl commercial drew scalpers and scammers, exploiting this short-lived popularity.
Some scalped the free NFT for hundreds of dollars, and others put up phishing sites impersonating the DigiDaigaku website to scam the innocent. After what happened to FTX and the other Web3 companies that aired commercials, many remained hesitant to buy ad space at the Super Bowl.
However, with DigiDaigaku being the only crypto-related ad aired, crypto companies couldn’t be happier that it wasn’t them that stirred controversy this time.
If you missed our Commercial during The Big Game Here’s another chance to view it! INSTRUCTIONS:✅RETWEET THIS TWEET✅LIKE THIS TWEET✅FOLLOW ME pic.twitter.com/1VWrgCyPrn— DigiDaigaku (@DigiDaigaku) February 13, 2023
Is There Such a Thing as Bad Publicity?
2022 saw numerous crypto firms spending millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads. The companies spent an estimated $54 million to air commercials at America’s most-watched sports event. Unsurprisingly, many dubbed last year’s Super Bowl the ‘Crypto Bowl.’
However, following the FTX collapse, an exchange that essentially led the crypto drive in the country, many crypto companies put their foot on the ground and stayed away from controversy.
A Fox Sports executive vice president of ad sales told the Associate Press that four crypto firms were close to booking commercials at this Super Bowl; however, the negotiations fell apart following the FTX debacle.
Interestingly, every crypto company that ran Super Bowl ads last year has incurred significant losses.
However, despite the hesitancy from other Web3 companies, Limit Break followed through on their deal and became the only crypto-related ad at game night. They shared that they paid $6.5 million for the QR Code Super Bowl ad.
The ad prompted users to scan a ‘persistent’ QR code to claim a free NFT for its anime-inspired game project, DigiDaigaku.
While a few thousand were lucky enough to get their hands on the NFT, the QR code redirected many to the Twitter profile of the CEO, Gabriel Leydon, who had also tweeted out a mint link before the ad aired.
The ad was effective in putting the spotlight on DigiDaigaku, stirring controversy. And with controversy being a magnet for publicity, the company did not fall short in capturing everyone’s attention, including critics, scammers, and scalpers.
DigiDaigaku paid $6.5M for a Super Bowl ad that looked like an ad for a Youtube mobile game that linked directly to the CEO's Twitter page. pic.twitter.com/wLavvvtphG— HashBastards NFTs