Once a breakout non-fungible token (NFT) project during the 2021 crypto boom, Pudgy Penguins is turning to real-world visibility with a high-profile ad placement in the Las Vegas Sphere this Christmas week.
Only a few crypto-related brands have secured advertising space at the Sphere, a massive LED-covered venue known for its immersive exhibits and performances by the likes of U2 and the Eagles. A bitcoin-focused activation ran in July, but other examples have been rare.
The Pudgy Penguins’ ad will run for several days starting Dec. 24 and will include several animated segments, according to a person familiar with the deal. The brand spent about $500,000 on the location — standard for a run at Sphere.
“It kind of shows that a crypto project can transcend and go beyond crypto, 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 made possible because the project has a “real business” behind it.
Launched in 2021 on Ethereum, Pudgy Penguins is best known for its collection of 8,888 cartoon-style penguin NFTs, each with unique properties. Under new management, the project has since expanded into physical toys sold at major retailers and a browser-based social game called Pudgy World.
The most popular Pudgy Penguin was reportedly sold in August 2022 for 400 ETH – worth around $650k at the time. Today, the NFT would be worth more than $1.2 million at ETH’s current price of $3,086.
The project struggled to stay relevant during the past year-long NFT bear market – not without success. Last December, it made headlines when it said it planned to launch a token called PENGU on Solana .
A few weeks later, the NFT set became the world’s second most valuable NFTs, with a minimum – or floor – price for any of the 8,888 comic penguins topping $100,000, tipping the collections value above its comic monkey predecessor, the Bored Apes Yacht Club.
Listed on major exchanges such as Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD), PENGU is down about 80% over the past year and about 74% from its all-time high of $0.042 in July.
