NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade®, the nation’s most beloved holiday event, returns to the web3 virtual world this holiday season with a brand-new Parade experience that will give fans the power to select the first-ever NFT (Non-Fungible Token) Macy’s Parade balloon. In celebration of its 96th march, the magic of the Macy’s Parade can be experienced as a virtual Parade in the metaverse and will include virtual galleries from five NFT projects and the opportunity for fans to vote for their favorite creators, helping one of their designs come life as its transformed into high-flying form in next year’s Macy’s Parade.
“As we countdown to the 96th Macy’s Parade, we are excited to bring this spectacle once again to the web3 virtual landscape with a fun experience that empowers our fans, collectors and our highly engaged Discord community,” said Will Coss, executive producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “Our genesis collection of Parade NFT’s last year was so successful that we wanted to give our digital community the opportunity to select a native NFT design to be transformed into a real-world Macy’s Parade balloon, while also creating an opportunity to raise critical funds for our partner Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.”
The metaverse experience will be powered by the OnCyber metaverse available to fans and collectors beginning on Thursday, November 24, at 9 a.m. EST. The virtual Parade can be accessed at macys.com/NFT and is fully accessible on desktop and mobile without the need for a crypto wallet, complicated log in or VR headset. The metaverse Parade will feature the flight of iconic Macy’s Parade balloons from the nine-decade run of the holiday march. These balloon creations were first featured as collectible NFTs made available last year in celebration of the Macy’s Parade’s 95th Anniversary.
Within the virtual Parade experience, fans can explore five galleries featuring NFT collections from Boss Beauties, Cool Cats, gmoney, SupDucks and VeeFriends. From Thursday, November 24 at 9 a.m. EST through Sunday, December 4 at 11:59 p.m. EST, fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite project with the winner set to become an IRL balloon in the 97th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2023. The first 100,000 fans who vote will receive a free Macy’s digital collectible. No purchase or claim to an NFT collectible is necessary to vote. Official voting rules will be available at macys.com/NFT beginning November 24.
In a second year of leveraging the power of the web3 community to make a difference in the lives of others, collectors will have the opportunity to mint a virtual gallery pass to receive an OnCyber NFT gallery space, which will be airdropped on December 5. Minting a virtual gallery pass will cost $50, with 100 percent of the purchase price benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA). By employing NFT technology in this way, Macy’s is helping create a brighter future for young people by helping fuel life-changing mentoring experiences for the long term.
As the nation’s largest youth mentoring organization, BBBSA’s proven model empowers young people via mentorships whose impact lasts a lifetime. Leveraging the expertise of professionally supported mentoring experiences, BBBSA’s adult volunteers (“Bigs”) inspire young people (“Littles”) to achieve post-secondary success, strengthen mental well-being and foster an inclusive environment for all.
During the voting period, additional votes will be given to NFT collectors who choose to mint and to holders of Macy’s 2021 Parade NFTs, with voting power based on the NFT rarity of those collectibles. Holders of NFTs from Boss Beauties, Cool Cats, gmoney, SupDucks and VeeFriends will also receive additional voting power.
The Macy's Parade Metaverse/NFT initiative was produced by Macy's in partnership with agency Media.Monks and Transparent House.
The 96th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, live from New York City, airs on NBC on Thursday, November 24, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in all time zones, and can be streamed on Peacock®. For an insider’s look at the holiday procession, fans nationwide should visit macys.com/parade for regular updates, including behind-the-scenes content, interactive historical information, Parade 101 educational activities and more. Fans can also follow @macys on various social media platforms and join the conversation using #MacysParade.
About Macy’s
Macy’s, the largest retail brand of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M), serves as the style source for generations of customers. With one of the nation’s largest e-commerce platforms powered by macys.com and mobile app, paired with a nationwide network of stores, Macy’s delivers the most convenient and seamless shopping experience, offering great values in apparel, home, beauty, accessories and more. Macy’s gives customers even more ways to shop and own their style through an off-price assortment at Macy’s Backstage and at our highly curated and smaller store format, Market by Macy’s. Each year, Macy’s provides millions with unforgettable experiences through Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks® and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade® and helps our customers celebrate special moments, big and small. We’re guided by our purpose—to create a brighter future with bold representation—that empowers more voice, choice and ownership for our colleagues, customers and communities.
