The Super Bowl isn’t full of crypto ads this time around, but there was one commercial for an NFT-powered game, featuring a QR code to scan to mint one of 10,000 free collectibles. The process didn’t work quite 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 that it paid $6.5 million for the commercial, which advertised a free Ethereum NFT mint for its anime-inspired game project, DigiDaigaku. The animated commercial was built around a persistent QR code, which the ad claimed would let viewers mint (or generate and claim) a free NFT for the game after scanning it.
Unfortunately, many viewers on Crypto Twitter said that scanning the QR code simply redirected them to the Twitter profile of Gabriel Leydon, the co-founder and CEO of Limit Break. The website address encoded in the code redirects people to Leydon’s Twitter page after a few seconds, so some users may not have seen the initial site load before being redirected.
“I dropped everything to watch the Super Bowl for a 30-second ad that was supposed to bring generational wealth from a free mint,” tweeted pseudonymous Crypto Twitter personality ThreadGuy, “and all I got was the opportunity to follow a mfer on Twitter.”
Others criticized the move as a means of “engagement farming” on Leydon’s part. Some said that Leydon tweeted out 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 excluding crypto newcomers and mainstream viewers.
bro, why did you rug the TV viewers by sending this early 😭
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