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 an all-new Parade experience that will give fans the opportunity to choose the first-ever NFT (Non-Fungible Token) Macy’s Parade balloon. To celebrate his 96thth March, the magic of 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 to life as it transforms into high-flying form in next year’s Macy’s Parade.
“When we count down to 96th Macy’s Parade, we are excited to bring this pageant 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 the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade . “Our origin 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 transform into a real Macy’s Parade balloon, while also creating an opportunity to collect 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 starting Thursday, November 24 at 9:00 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 login 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 collectibles made available last year to celebrate the Macy’s Parade’s 95th Anniversary.
Within the virtual Parade experience, fans can explore five galleries of NFT collections from Boss Beauties, Cool Cats, gmoney, SupDucks and VeeFriends. From Thursday 24 November at 9 a.m. EST through Sunday, December 4 at 11:59 PM EST, fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite project with the winner set to be an IRL balloon in 97.th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2023. The first 100,000 fans to vote will receive a free Macy’s digital collectible. No purchase or claim of 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 harnessing the power of the web3 community to make a difference in the lives of others, collectors will have the opportunity to create a virtual gallery pass to receive an OnCyber NFT gallery slot, which will be sent out on December 5 . a virtual gallery pass will cost $50, with 100 percent of the purchase price benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA). By using NFT technology in this way, Macy’s is helping to create a brighter future for young people by contributing to life-changing long-term mentoring experiences.
As the nation’s largest youth mentoring organization, BBBSA’s proven model empowers young people through mentorship whose impact lasts a lifetime. By 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 awarded to NFT collectors who choose to mint and to holders of Macy’s 2021 Parade NFTs, with voting rights 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 rights.
The Macy’s Parade Metaverse/NFT initiative was produced by Macy’s in partnership with agency Media.Monks and Transparent House.
The 96thth The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, live from New York City, will air on NBC on Thursday, November 24 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM in all time zones and can be streamed on Peacock®. To get a glimpse of the holiday pageant, 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 source of style for generations of customers. With one of the nation’s largest e-commerce platforms powered by macys.com and mobile app, along with a nationwide network of stores, Macy’s delivers the most convenient and seamless shopping experience, offering great value in apparel, home, beauty, accessories and more. Macy’s gives customers even more ways to shop and own their style through a low-price assortment at Macy’s Backstage and in our highly curated and smaller store format, Market by Macy’s. Each year, Macy’s provides millions with unforgettable experiences through the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks® and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade® and help our customers celebrate special moments, big and small. We are driven by our purpose – to create a brighter future with bold representation – that provides more voice, choice and ownership for our colleagues, clients and communities.
