Coinbase shows how you can get paid off your cat memes

Anyone chronically online knows that cat memes keep the lights on for a subdivision of the internet. What might appear as a simple pet photo to some is a fountain of content for others—a memeable moment that can generate thousands of likes and engagement, and possibly even monetization. A new, humorous campaign from Coinbase zeroes in on this phenomenon to encourage creators to launch projects “onchain” (or as NFTs) and effectively reap the benefits of any replication, alteration and memeification of their images. A 60-second spot created by Coinbase Creative Studio and directed by Jack Begert stars Mister Miggles, a fluffy, grumpy-looking cat, whose photo quickly goes viral and serves as the foundation for thousands of memes and humorous content. A narrator explains Mister Miggles’ journey from fluffy internet cat to meme, to logo and merchandise. The catch? Mister Miggles and his owner aren’t the ones to monetize off of the spin-offs, as other people capitalized from Mister Miggles’ image and likeness. The campaign ends with a call to action to creators to post their projects as NFTs through Coinbase, advocating for them to have more control and freedom over how their work is changed and monetized. “The vast majority of creators don’t have control over their work, good ways to monetize it, or a direct relationship with their audience,” said Coinbase Chief Marketing Officer Kate Rouch. “Our goal with Mister Miggles is to show that onchain technology can help with a much-needed update to the economic models of the Internet and empower creators big and small." The campaign is part of Coinbase’s second “Onchain Summer,” a multi-week challenge in which creators post and remix or change projects onchain for a chance to win prizes and be featured by Coinbase. Last year, brands including Coca-Cola, Blackbird, Zora, FWB, Parallel and creators submitted onchain projects on Coinbase for the summer. The campaign comes as a Coinbase survey found that three out of four people think that creators deserve more control over what they create, and that even the most successful creators only see a fraction of the value they create online. Onchain technology, or non-fungible tokens (NFTs), allow creators to get paid directly from their patrons and have ownership of their original digital works. Onchain projects also have a trackable digital ID, so that any changes, modifications or replications of the work are also traced back to the origin and its creator. So far in 2024, Coinbase’s “Onchain Summer” has resulted in over 30 drops earning over $1 million. As part of the campaign, Coinbase is inviting anyone to mint the Mister Miggles film and participate in remixing (or creating fun, original designs of) the Mister Miggles NFT. (Minting is to create a unique digital asset on the cryptocurrency blockchain). Users can then vote for their favorite takes and support the people behind the creations. Proceeds from the NFT remixes go to the creators. Proceeds from the Mister Miggles film mint will go to a creator fund, which goes back to supporting onchain creators.

Coinbase shows how you can get paid off your cat memes

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