Celebrities Endorsing NFTs

Celebrities who own NFTs are old news. Now it’s all about the famous faces who are making — and even trademarking, their own digital collectibles, and launching NFT-related projects. Let’s see how big names are trying to expand their brands’ reach.

The number of popular brands and names getting in on the NFT game is only growing as time passes (like LV, Mercedes and F1, NASA and even the Vatican that we already wrote about). This trend shows how NFTs are becoming more mainstream, and a tool for brands and celebrities to speak to their audience from the platform they use.

Rapper and NFT investor Snoop Dogg tweeted a selfie at the second Bored & Hungry NFT-themed restaurant by Bored Ape Yacht Club in LA, helping to get the word out.

Dr Bombay is the name Snoop Dogg gives to his BAYC NFT, which is Bored Ape #6723 with the rare traits of cheetah fur, a pimp coat and a Vietnam era helmet. Snoop Dogg bought that Ape via Moonpay in December 2021.

The new NFT restaurant Snoop Dogg will cut the ribbon for is set to offer ‘an immersive retail dessert experience’, focusing more on sweets than the burgers and fast food Bored & Hungry is popular for.

Kanye West, the celebrity-rapper who once posted a hand-written letter to his Instagram account which read, “Do not ask me to do a fcking NFT,” seems to be getting ready to do fcking NFTs. In the post, which has since been deleted, West — AKA Ye — ended the letter with an incredible about-face, writing, “Ask me later.”

On May 27, Ye filed trademark applications for “currencies and tokens,” “blockchain-based non-fungible assets,” and “online retail store services featuring […] digital art” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office all associated with his Yeezus alter-ego.

On April 19, football legend David Beckham’s venture capital firm DB Ventures Limited filed for three separate trademark applications with the USPTO, which are geared toward digital tokens, virtual clothing like footwear and headwear, and virtual entertainment events.

Beckham’s trademark entrance into the world of NFTs came shortly after he became the global brand ambassador for DigitalBits Blockchain, a partnership that is meant to “drive innovation and sustainability in the sector and cultivate new ways for Beckham to connect with his fans.”

Back in February, Billie Eilish’s company Lash Music LLC filed two trademark applications, one for the singer’s name and another for her well-known Blohsh logo. The applications point to Eilish’s intentions to grow her brand into the world of NFTs, virtual currencies, and digital collectibles.

One of the more sensitive and controversial entries on this list is the late Notorious B.I.G. Though Biggie died in 1997, Notorious B.I.G. LLC recently filed three trademark applications for “The Brook,” the gamified metaverse that claims it will transport users to the streets of 90s Brooklyn and immerse them in the hip-hop heritage and culture that influenced the artist’s life and work.

The applications show that The Brook plans to offer users an NFT exchange, NFTs, and other digital collectibles. Being an interactive metaverse space, it could provide a focal point for a community of Biggie lovers and hip-hop fans the world over.

Chuck Norris is also stepping into the NFT ring. Norris has four separate NFT and crypto-related trademark applicationspending approval, and they seem to indicate the coming introduction of a new native cryptocurrency connected to Norris’ brand (”Chuck Coin”), among other things.

The list of celebrities entering the NFT world could be longer, of course. But even the current list shows all of celebrity and influencer culture are fans trying to transition from ‘I want’ to ‘I own’. What is the ‘want’? To support your favourite artist, to own something they created (be it albums, books, or art). With NFTs, there’s also bragging rights. People can buy something from a celebrity knowing that they are the only ones to “own” it.

A celebrity endorsements work in two ways — sales and credibility for the product, and publicity and money (and in some cases image building) for the celebrity. This is what makes NFTs and celebrities such a great match!