A year ago this week, Paris Hilton appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss her Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs.
A year ago this week, Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton got together on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to show off their NFTs. Both Hilton and Fallon had purchased “Bored Apes” from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT Collection. It was a project that, even then, was synonymous with “expensive JPEGs”.
“Last time you were on the show, I asked you to explain NFTs,” Fallon said, with his usual plastic charm, “and you did it in a great way.” As a gracious host, Fallon later named Hilton one of Forbes’ 50 Most Influential People in NFTs. The socialite responded with one of the most banal series of words ever put together, as follows:
“Thank you, I am very proud. I love being a part of this community, being a voice and sharing my platform, and just getting the word out. Because I think it’s such an amazing thing.”
The damning coverage was impossible to ignore: Forbes, The Atlantic, The Telegraph, VICE, The Cut. This was public interest journalism; two rich people talking about their exorbitant monkeys. It was funny, it was reportedly embarrassing, among other things.
Jimmy Fallon?
The whole brand and vibe is the exact opposite of what Web3 and the vision of decentralization is supposed to be. The idea is not exactly to help the rich get richer.
That same month, reports that Justin Bieber paid $1.3 million for a BAYC NFT only added to the animosity. By the spring of last year, the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s celebrity roster was packed with household names.
Despite the cries of “shame” from the cheap seats, maybe Yuga Labs (the creators of BAYC) were onto something. Hilton’s appearance on Fallon’s show coincided with an increase in the BAYC minimum price.
However, the higher prices did not necessarily mean that people thought of BAYC as less embarrassing. An appearance on one of America’s most popular talk shows is a bullish sign.
BAYC and NFT Brand Damage
The extensive media coverage of celebrities and their boring overalls seemingly did little for the broader NFT brand. A February 2022 survey of UK residents by YouGov showed that 43% of respondents would feel less favorable if a business started offering NFTs. Only 3% of respondents would feel more favorable.
There is also a big difference in people’s perceived value depending on whether or not they own one. According to a survey conducted by Variety magazine, consumer perceptions of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been declining, especially among those who have not purchased them.
The power of shame has meant that even bullish companies like Reddit have moved away from the term NFT, opting instead for the term ‘Collectible Avatars’.
By Audy Castaneda
