the six wackiest NFTs of 2021

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Not everyone can explain what an NFT is, but few would say that non-fungible tokens, whether in the form of NBA Top Shot clips or members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, have become the defining cultural medium of 2021. Artists such as Beeple and Pak made headlines and set auction house records. Membership of the aforementioned BAYC has set a new bar for social credibility. Mark Zuckerberg snatched the term “metaverse” from the Geek Bible (aka Neal Stephenson’s sci-fi novel Snow Crash) and pushed it into the headlines. At worst, NFTs were inexplicable – and very desperate – marketing takes by studios, brands and Hollywood celebrities. At their best, these are works of art and content (novels, games, movies) that push the boundaries that have democratized ownership and distribution in the arts. Then there were some weird ones that defied categorization. Here are some of the weird fruits born from the NFT boom of 2021.

Crockpot NFT

Because who doesn’t need a retro-tastic animated GIF of a slow cooker that evolves over the ages? In honor of Crockpot’s 50th anniversary, Sunbeam ventured out to web3 and auctioned such an NFT on the NFT OpenSea Marketplace, with bids starting at 0.03 Ethereum (around $ 100). The video features the original 1971 model (remember when all devices were beige?) In 2D blocky animation, bubbling with a sort of stew. The wonder of preparing dinner then transforms into more elegant models of the new Design Series, warming up a pot of ramen. Sunbeam leaned heavily on the metaphor. “We started out as a simple bean cooker that minimized cooking time for busy housewives,” the press release read. “But we know we need to evolve by bringing in the next generation of creative home cooks. The solution was synthesis: to mix the past, the present and the future. And while our new Design Series did this by bringing these cooks an iconic appliance with a modern aesthetic, this NFT did so by storing the classic Crockpot on blockchain rather than in the closet.

Certainly a milestone in the metaverse in 2021 was this: an NFT signed with Hollywood talent agency CAA. That would be Jenkins the Valet, a digital character taken from the Bored Ape Yacht Club – the blockchain-based social club where users adopt quirky-looking monkey avatars – but who then evolved into his own intellectual property that makes the news. one of the newspapers, and, yes, agency representation. Created by Tally Labs, Jenkins is a brooding looking monkey with a heavy underbite and bad teeth. He wears a valet outfit (waistcoat, cap) and has over 25,000 followers on Twitter, where he began posting his origin story in May. Three months later, it hit the blockchain as a series of NFTs that sold out in six minutes and generated over $ 1.5 million in sales. Buyers were given access to a members-only website called The Writer’s Room, where they could help provide fodder for a community-driven NFT book through a Choose Your Own Adventure format. Enter CAA, who paired Jenkins with author Neil Strauss (Rules of the Game), who will help write the book. TV shows and movies will follow for sure, no.

Cyber ​​Eau de Parfum

The world’s first “digital scent” arrived this year via Berlin-based Look Labs, which used near-infrared spectroscopy to create a digital reflection of the molecular wavelengths of a scent. (For what that means, see here.) The perfume-based artwork Cyber ​​Eau de Parfum (but of course) was sold as NFT, along with 10 digital works of art that accompany him. Then, 888 physical versions of the unisex perfume were also released in the market. a world in which technology, AI and advanced scientific innovations are an integral part of our daily lives. It is a bouquet of “energizing top notes” which “then melt into a heart of incense, cooling the scent into notes of Zen wood and amber”.

Snoop dogg sitcom

The first NFT sitcom is courtesy of – who else? – Snoop Dogg, who teamed up with the Harlem Globetrotters to drop Da Dogg Gone Gym on the blockchain platform Vast in October. The show, which takes place on a soul-funk background track, features a 1970s Snoop Dogg playing a globetrotter trainer trying to get the team back in shape. The project was part of a larger Globetrotters campaign – New Tech, New Trainer, New Tour – which includes a new theme song written by Snoop Dogg. The Globetrotters Project is just one part of the rapper’s burgeoning NFT empire. He dropped an original lead, NFT, as a non-fungible token in March, and under the alias Cozomo de ‘Medici amassed $ 17 million in NFT holdings, including nine. Coveted CryptoPunks.

NFT toilet paper

Charmin entered the NFT space with the very first NFTP (Non-fungible Bathroom Tissue), a brand-inspired digital artwork. The marketing stunt went even further, offering a “physical display” in case buyers wish to “hang your NFTP in your bathroom next to your IRL rolls”. Five unique NFT collectibles were offered, with offers ranging from $ 500 to $ 2,100. One of the NFTs featured the familiar, cuddly bears Charmin, but others were original artwork by artists Donna Adi, Shanee Benjamin, and Made by Radio. The move was one of several taken by brands, including Pizza Hut, Budweiser, and Adidas, to enter the crypto space as a way to make some noise. Whether the same is true for toilet paper sales is less clear.

digital farts

True to the theme of pot humor, Brooklyn-based director Alex Ramírez-Mallis chose to comment on the craziness of the crypto craze via a collection of non-fungible farts. The sounds were recorded over a one-year period during quarantine with a group of friends, who initially shared them via WhatsApp. When the NFT market started to explode, Ramírez-Mallis and his friends turned the recordings into a 52-minute “Master Collection” audio file and put it up for sale on the blockchain. Solo Fart NFTs were also available for purchase. “The NFT craze is absurd – this idea of ​​putting value into something inherently intangible,” Ramírez-Mallis told The New York Post. “These NFTs aren’t even pets, they’re just numeric alphanumeric strings that represent ownership. . . . Hope these NFT farts can immediately criticize [the NFT bubble], make people laugh and make me rich.

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