VW does a lot of interesting things in the tech space. It’s working on autonomous driving, recycling, there was that whole diesel thing we don’t talk about… But VW South Africa’s got something a little more modern for us this week. Selling cars… wait for it… using NFTs.
Impossible, you say? Actually, it’s not. It is, from a marketing perspective, almost genius. VW has stashed NFTs in the new locally-filed ad for the Polo. It’s giving away twenty unique digital items URLs that you can claim ownership of (a day) over five days. All you have to do is find and screencap the NFT in question, tweet it to the company and be among the first twenty to do it daily.
VW: Now with added NFTs
The ‘almost genius’ bit? In order to be eligible for that NFT, you’re going to spend time watching the ad. More than once. Or, at least, someone is. But the folks who are willing to put in the work are likely those who will snag an NFT on the day. Copying someone’s homework will likely make you late to the party. So, effectively, you’re signing up to brainwash yourself.
But the ad itself is a rather nifty cyberpunk take on Johannesburg and it’s appropriately modern. It owes absolutely nothing to both Ready Player One and Far Cry: Blood Dragon. At all. Promise.
As for the NFTs, they’re the real deal. By that we mean they were minted on OpenSea and will require a MetaMask wallet (which VW will help you set up if you need it to). There’s no sign what sort of actual value they’ve got, if any, but there is a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory scenario happening as well.
See, three of these NFTs are gold. And those three will grant the lucky winner, in addition to owning a shiny new NFT of dubious value, some actually valuable prizes. Said prizes are “…fresh new skins from Superbalist, a PS5, a driving course from Volkswagen Advanced Driving and upgrades for your mind from GetSmarter”. If you’re keen on taking your chances, check out the VW video above, the competition details here, and get screencapping. The giveaway starts today and runs until 22 March.
