NFT’S MAKE THEIR MACY’S T-DAY PARADE DEBUT
Tomorrow’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – the retailer’s 95thth – will return as an in-person, spectator-lined march through Manhattan after being a very scaled-down virtual event last year due to Covid.
Its full-blown return (with – pardon the pun – giant balloons and all) will also take a very modern bent and incorporate a trend of the moment, NFTs aka Non-Fungible Tokens. The store is offering 9,510 of these limited edition, one-of-a-kind digital collectibles, the sale and auction of which will support Make-A-Wish charitable organization.
The NFTs will feature balloons from the parade’s more than nine-decade history.
“As we celebrate our rich legacy, 95 years in the making, we were struck by the unique place the Parade holds in pop culture, always evolving and reflecting the greatest characters and artists of each generation,” said Will Coss, Executive Producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “To celebrate that history, we created art in a new form through NFTs that would bring the magic of the Parade to a new generation while raising funds for our partner Make-A-Wish.”
Designed by REOMETRY, a digital agency led by NFT artists REO and Seth Brown, the NFTs are based on Macy’s archival and creative content. The generative artworks will feature one of ten Macy’s balloons, covering legacy characters and ornamental figures that have appeared over the course of the gathering’s history, from the late 1920s through today.
A special auction began on Friday, November 19, featuring ten Epic Macy’s Parade NFTs, which are unique one-of-one designs. The auction runs through this Tuesday, November 30 and 100 percent of its proceeds will benefit Make-A-Wish. In addition, Macy’s has structured the smart contracts of each Macy’s Parade NFT such that any sale of a Macy’s Parade NFT in the after-market on compatible marketplaces will generate an additional 10 percent donation to Make-A-Wish.
As of press time today, the highest bids for each of the ten designs on the site ranged from $4,400 to $7,000.
People also will have the opportunity to secure and claim one of the free Macy’s Parade generative NFTs from the site beginning tomorrow at 10:00 am ET. They will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
These carbon-neutral NFTs will be easy for people to collect, trade and sell. If NFT owners decide to sell their Macy’s Parade NFTs in the NFT after-market on compatible marketplaces, 10 percent of any sales generated will be donated to Make-A-Wish, in perpetuity.
The parade will air live tomorrow on NBC and Telemundo from 9:00 am to noon.