UKRAINE

Sold the Coffin Dance Meme NFT For Over $1 Million

A case about how we managed to support our homeland Ukraine in the unprovoked war started by russia.

Overview of the Coffin Dance meme NFT case

A meme of dancing African pallbearers Coffin Dance was sold at an NFT auction for a record amount of 1,047,806 dollars (327 ETH). The winning bid for the meme was placed on April 9th. Starting with our submission and after our powerful persuasion to the pallbearers, the coffin Dance team decided to sell its meme to support Ukraine, which is now fighting a russian military invasion and facing all of russian war crimes. It’s important to note that 25% of the proceeds (our common part of a deal as organizers from Ukraine), according to the prescribed conditions of the smart contract, were sent to the “Come back alive” charity fund to help the Ukrainian military.

Project inception and risk of potential failure

The project was conceived and organized by the Ukrainian company Bads Agency and its founder Dmitry Makarov, in collaboration with PR manager Eugene Lapitsky, marketer Mikhail Vatazhok, and IT product lead Rasim Nadzhafov. Of course, it was also approved by the Coffin Dance group. The team quickly developed a marketing campaign, launched it, and eventually put the meme up for auction as an NFT token.

The team was concerned about the tight timeline. We didn’t have much time and faced low chances of success, especially considering the history and insights from other popular meme NFTs, which typically prepare for a month or two before going to auction. But we chose to take the risk with an accelerated promotion strategy—because in the face of war, every minute of delay costs Ukrainian lives.

Auction night

The evening before the auction's end, we anxiously waited by our screens, watching as bids gradually rolled in for the Coffin Dance NFT.

As the evening turned into late night, a fierce bidding "battle" began among the top contenders. We refreshed the browser nonstop, eyes glued to the screen, while simultaneously popping open champagne. The final bid came in at 12:38 a.m., and we finally exhaled, still unable to fully grasp the magnitude of the NFT project's success.

Project success and an absolute record

The project's success is underscored by the fact that the Coffin Dance NFT sold for $1,046,079 (327 ETH), setting an absolute record among meme NFTs on the Foundation platform. To put this into perspective, for our team, selling at 100 ETH would have been considered a major success.

An interesting fact: Chris Torres, the creator of Nyan Cat, lent his support to the team and the Coffin Dance project, adding even more visibility and recognition to the campaign.

How it all began

Many people around the world are familiar with the merrily dancing pallbearers from Ghana, popularly known as the Coffin Dance. They became a global sensation, inspiring parodies, challenges, memes, and video jokes. The group has been featured in prominent media outlets such as The Guardian, CNN, BBC, and The New York Times.

The Coffin Dance meme even caught the attention of former US President Donald Trump, who shared it on his official page. In Ghana, coffin dancing is a long-standing tradition, where locals hire dancers for funerals to celebrate the deceased’s final journey. Initially, the meme was associated with the spread of COVID-19, but its meaning has evolved. Ukrainians now see it as a symbol of hope and resilience in their fight against Russian invaders.

Over a year ago, Eugene Lapitsky, known for his creative PR solutions, reached out to Benjamin Aidoo, the leader of the “Nana Otafrija Pallbearing Services” group, to help transform the Coffin Dance into a global brand. They agreed to collaborate on joint projects. Since then, I’ve been involved in all the IT and some PR aspects of this collaboration.

Together with Eugene, other Ukrainian specialists, and the Bads agency, we developed successful marketing strategies and launched engaging projects based on the Coffin Dance meme. The collaboration was progressing well.

However, just as we were preparing large-scale Coffin Dance performances in the USA, the plans collapsed, leading to lost money, time, and shattered expectations.

During this time, Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, marking the beginning of the war. Despite the challenges, we continued to work remotely, across different cities and countries. Ukrainians and the Ghanaian dancers came together to create and promote an NFT token to support Ukraine. This project united all participants and motivated us for future achievements.

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