The top 5 metaverse activations you need to know about right now

Ad Age's ranking of metaverse activations from brands and others leaning into the virtual craze.

The top 5 metaverse activations you need to know about right now

No. 5: Getty Images

Getty Images announced it would be taking its library to the blockchain. That’s 465 million assets with the potential for transformation into NFTs. Getty Images announced that it would be focusing on debuting never-before-seen archival images within the collection, made in partnership with Candy Digital marketplace. (In conclusion, that’s a lot of NFTs.)

Read: How brands are using NFTs

No. 4: Call of Duty: Veteruns

To honor Memorial Day, video game Call of Duty hosted an in-game fun run to raise funds for its in-house non-profit The Call of Duty Endowment. Sporting the punny name “Veteruns,” the event sends players on a virtual 100-kilometer race to earn badges and generate funds for the organization, which is simultaneously celebrating placing 100,000 veterans into high-paying jobs. Each avatar earns $1 for every 10 kilometers they run, building toward a cap of $1 million. As of writing, the event has achieved just over half of its goal with only two days left.

No. 3: Fox Entertainment: “Krapopolis”

In the search for ways to make NFTs more fun than something that sits in a virtual wallet, TV could be crypto’s new frontier. Fox announced a new show called “Krapopolis,” an animated series from the creator of “Rick and Morty.” Set in Ancient Greece, it follows an unconventional family of gods and monsters navigating the deathly hijinks of the mythical world, supported by a collection of NFTs and a unique currency that grants fans access to behind-the-scenes content.

Fox is positioning “Krapopolis” as the first-ever animated series developed on the blockchain and a major step forward for its in-house Web3 arm, Blockchain Creative Labs.

Sign up for Ad Age’s Metaverse Marketing newsletter.

No. 2: Institute for Canadian Citizenship: Disparity Coin

To highlight the pay gap for immigrants in Canada, agency Wunderman Thompson teamed with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship to launch “Disparity Coin.” The virtual token utilizes immigration data from the organization to increase or decrease its worth based on the current earnings of the country’s immigrant community versus their Canadian-born peers. “Disparity Coin” is currently unavailable to mint, but the agency has plans to do so in the future to increase awareness around the pay gap.

No. 1: Jimmy John’s: Metasandwich

Sure, TV is nice, but you can’t (easily) eat TV. Jimmy John’s, with agency Anomaly, created the ultimate solution for Web3 enthusiasts with rumbling tummies: a virtual sandwich that could be redeemed for IRL grub. Jimmy John’s activation in Decentraland, which launched last month, was packed with sub-ready ingredients that users could collect and combine to order in real life at Jimmy John’s locations in Nashville and Chicago.

Jimmy John’s selected one user’s creation, Drew V.’s smoked ham, bacon, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayonnaise, mustard, oil & vinegar and BBQ chip recipe, to feature on the campaign website. Through June 3, a select number of this virtual creation are available to order.

Subscribe to Ad Age now for award-winning news and insight.