NFT Pudgy Penguins raises half a million USD in advertising at Las Vegas Sphere during Christmas

Once a breakthrough NFT project during the crypto boom of 2021, Pudgy Penguins is seeking to increase real-world recognition through a large-scale advertising campaign at Las Vegas Sphere during the Christmas week.

Only a few crypto-related brands have appeared at the Sphere — the giant LED-covered venue famous for immersive shows and performances by U2 and Eagles. Previously, a Bitcoin-focused campaign was launched in July, but such cases remain quite rare.

According to an insider familiar with the deal, Pudgy Penguins’ advertisements will run for several days starting from 12/24, featuring various animated segments. The cost for this placement is around $500,000 — a standard price for an ad campaign at Sphere.

“This shows that a crypto project can entirely go beyond the industry’s scope and touch the emotions and perceptions of the mainstream consumer,” said Vedant Mangaldas, Chief Strategy and Brand Officer of Pudgy Penguins, in an interview with CoinPhoton. He added that this deal is only feasible because the project has “a real business model” 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 features. Under new leadership, the project has expanded into physical toys distributed through major retail chains and developed a social browser game called Pudgy World.

The most expensive Pudgy Penguin NFT is believed to have been sold in August 2022 for 400 ETH, approximately $650,000 at that time. At the current ETH price of $3,086, this NFT is now valued at over $1.2 million.

During the prolonged NFT market downturn, Pudgy Penguins has worked to maintain its appeal—and achieved certain results. In December last year, the project continued to attract attention with its announcement of the PENGU token launch on Solana.

Just a few weeks later, this collection became the second most valuable NFT collection in the world, with the floor price of each of the 8,888 penguins exceeding $100,000, pushing the total collection value above that of the “big brother” Bored Ape Yacht Club.

However, PENGU — now listed on major exchanges like Coinbase and Robinhood — has dropped about 80% over the past year and is roughly 74% below its all-time high of $0.042 recorded in July.

Thach Sanh