007: Sunglasses, NFT Collabs, & Discord

Around the block…

• Walmart: Walmart launched its new ‘Cultureverse’ experience on Spatial. Partnering with POCLab, the activation celebrates the 50th anniversary of hip-hop (Decrypt).

• Walmart: Will sell Pudgy Penguin toys in 2,000 stores. The toys, which have been available on walmart.com since May, come with a QR code to link to a digitally connected experience. Once scanned, owners can select character traits and participate in a virtual world that is backed by the zkSync Era blockchain (CoinDesk).

• Meta: Launched Ray-Ban smart sunglasses that include camera, social live-stream, music, and meta AI technologies in multiple styles. The glasses start at $299 and are available for pre-order, with delivery anticipated in mid-October (Meta).

• Sunglass Hut: Store visitors in nine locations can scan QR codes on digital screens to claim free pairs of Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses for their Ready Player Me avatars (PR Newswire).

• Louis Vuitton: Launched a Discord server on September 26th and has garnered nearly 9K members to date. The server includes a Discord roadmap with upcoming VR, gaming, web3, and eSport plans (Discord).

• L’Oreal: Will be hosting a showcase at Paris Fashion Week on October 1st. The event will be streamed shortly after within Roblox (Jing Daily).

• Mattel: Has partnered with GaryVee’s VeeFriends NFT project again. This time, they’re collaborating with the Masters of the Universe franchise to release a 2-pack of toy figurines. The item is available for pre-sale starting October 6th and is priced at $45. A select volume of items will also be given away to VeeFriends NFT-holders who own specific NFTs (VeeFriends).

• BAPE: The Japanese streetwear brand is partnering with NFT brand, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), to drop a capsule collection on November 5th. The items will be available to BAPETAVERSE and BAYC NFT owners (HypeBeast).

What is…?

• Spatial: A social-gaming / metaverse platform accessible across devices (web, mobile, and VR). Spatial built on popular game engine, Unity, and is integrated with Web3 technology including NFT operability (Spatial).

• POCLab: People of Crypto Lab, a Web3 creative studio ‘built around the ideals of representation, diversity, and inclusion’ (Decrypt).

• zkSync Era: Layer 2 protocol that scales the Ethereum blockchain (zkSync).

• Ready Player Me: An interoperable avatar platform that links to over 10,000 apps and games (including Spatial). The platform allows users to create a 3D avatar with a photo or manually & encourages tech adoption via it’s free SDKs & APIs (Ready Player Me).

• Discord: A chat app including - voice, video, and text - available on desktop and mobile devices. Communities or entities use ‘servers’ to centralize public or private conversation, generally centered around specific topics. Discord allows brands to be closer to their communities than other social channels as the chat lives in a dedicated space that only interested people can access (Discord).

Chain Reactions!

Pudgy Penguins in the Spotlight:

Pudgy Penguins captured a lot of coverage this week with their toys being picked up in Walmart stores. Web3 press really latched on to the news as it is a step towards an NFT brand making the transition from niche to mass relevance. I’m sure all eyes will remain on Pudgy Penguins as they strive to prove the marketability of similar projects and offer a roadmap for NFT brands trying to break through to a more sustainable model post-hype.