Once the breakout non-fungible token (NFT) project during the 2021 cryptocurrency boom, Pudgy Penguins is now pivoting to real-world visibility with a high-profile advertising run in Las Vegas arenas over Christmas.
Only a handful of cryptocurrency-related brands have been given advertising space at the Sphere, a large LED-covered venue known for its immersive displays and performances by bands like U2 and Eagles. There was a Bitcoin-centric activation in July, but other examples are rare.
The ad for Pudgy Penguins will run for a few days starting on December 24 and will include multiple animated clips, according to a person familiar with the matter. The brand spent about $500,000 on the implant – which is standard for running on the Sphere.
“It kind of shows that a crypto project can transcend and go beyond the crypto space and touch the hearts and minds of everyday consumers,” Vedant Mangaldas, head of strategy and brand at Pudgy Penguins, told CoinDesk. He said the deal was possible because there was “real business” behind the project.
Launched on Ethereum in 2021, Pudgy Penguins is known for its collection of 8,888 cartoon-style penguin NFTs, each with unique characteristics. Under new leadership, the project has expanded into physical toys sold at major retailers and a browser-based social game called Pudgy World.
According to reports, the most popular Chunky Penguin was sold for 400 ETH in August 2022, which was worth about $650,000 at the time. Today, at ETH’s current price of $3,086, the NFT would be worth more than $1.2 million.
The project has struggled to stay relevant during the NFT bear market of recent years, but not without success. It made new headlines in December when it said it planned to launch a token called PENGU on Solana .
A few weeks later, the NFT set became the second most valuable NFT in the world, with the lowest (or floor) price for any one of the 8,888 comic penguins exceeding $100,000, making the collection worth more than its comic monkey predecessor, the Bored Apes Yacht Club.
PENGU, which is listed on major exchanges such as Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD), is down about 80% over the past year and is down about 74% from its all-time high of $0.042 in July.
