Coca-Cola Co.'s foray into the fast-growing metaverse was a big hit with fans and the crypto community, with the brand’s first-ever NFT collectibles garnering a winning bid of $575,883.61 in an online auction.
An NFT, or non-fungible token, is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files.
Auctioned over 72 hours as a single “loot box” via the OpenSea marketplace, the four multi-sensory, friendship-inspired NFTs put a virtual-world spin on iconic Coca-Cola assets. The Friendship Box reimagines a vintage Coca-Cola cooler with dynamic motion and illumination featuring three other NFTs inside: a custom-designed Coca-Cola bubble jacket to be worn in the Decentraland 3D virtual reality platform; a sound visualizer illustrating the recognizable sonics of enjoying a Coca-Cola; and a Coca-Cola Friendship Card with refreshed artwork from 1948.
All Coca-Cola proceeds from the auction will go to Special Olympics International. The Coca-Cola loot box, which is now split into individual NFTs up for secondary sale, ranks among the top five NFTs ever sold on OpenSea. Vlad credits the surprise-and-delight aspects, retro design and collectability of the NFTs with driving engagement and demand.
