The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Patrick Coffee reported that sources said e-commerce platform Temu has “committed to buying multiple ad units” during the Super Bowl. Temu blanketed online ad channels this year and now is “seeking to make a bigger splash” in traditional advertising by “once again buying commercial time” during the Super Bowl. Temu launched quietly in September 2022 and made its “big-game debut” earlier this year, airing the “same 30-second ad several times during and after the Super Bowl” in February. “Shop Like a Billionaire” was among the game’s lowest-ranking ads in some viewer surveys, but Temu “quickly became the most-downloaded app” on Apple and Google’s app stores in the following weeks and months (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/28).
RIPPING PACKS OPEN: In Baltimore, Garrett Dvorkin reports Cal Ripken Jr. “recently released a collection” of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the form of digital replicas of artifacts like balls, bats and jerseys and highlights from his 21-season career with Candy Digital. The 500 packs, which retailed for $40, "sold out in under four hours." Candy Digital first partnered with Ripken last year and released the Cal Ripken Jr. rookie collection. Candy Digital co-founder Matt Novogratz said the company "had been looking to expand beyond just current players” and thought Ripken would be “a good fit” to start its legends collection (BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/1).
