When the Dude walked into VeeCon in Minnesota, I noticed something interesting.

Despite VeeFriends Series 1 holders claiming the mantle as OGs of the VeeFriends universe, I didn't see a single Series 1 picture anywhere. No Gary Vee doodles, no original drawings of a Sensible Sommelier or a Tasteful Malaysian Tapir or any other Series 1. VeeFriends Series 2 characters, launched in April, universally adorned the banners, screens, and merchandise.

Where were the Series 1 characters?

That's when it dawned on me: Gary's playbook is to exclusively market the Series 2 characters to the public.

There are a few advantages to this marketing strategy. First, people associate immediate relatability to the Series 2 characters despite the fact that the utility will accrue to the Series 1 holders. More plainly said: the Series 2 characters become front-facing for the VeeFriends brand.

Second, the artistic style for Series 2 (developed and refined cartoons instead of simplistic doodles) is more portable to media, merchandise, and consumer retail. No judgement on the "art" either way, but it's easier to turn this refined cartoon of Gratitude Gorilla into this plushie than the original Gary doodle.

Lastly, one starts to see how a healthy yet tiered system emerges within the VeeFriends universe. A child receives a plushie Gratitude Gorilla and adores it. As she gets older, she develops nostalgia for the character, which as a young adult she now wants to represent digitally to her friends as a matter of pride, so she buys the Series 2 Gratitude Gorilla. However, what she really aspires to own is the Series 1: the OG, the genesis, the starting point.

All generated through marketing.

With or without utility, some collectors may find personal desire to own “what’s on the screen” instead of “what came first.” Don’t believe me? Try convincing your toddler to buy the “Steamboat Willie” plushie over the “Mickey Mouse” plushie at Disneyland - not so easy, huh?

Web3 brands that endeavor to pursue to the consumer sector are taking similar steps. Proof and Moonbirds v2, Mythics, appears to be following a similar path. The v1, Moonbirds, are fun but pixelated and difficult to map into refined media without staying in their current format.

From the sneak peeks of Mythics, we can see similar "refined cartoons" emerging:

Gamified and differentiated drop mechanics aside, the marketing playbook appears to be the same: Mythics will be the front-facing side of Moonbirds. Slap Mythics on partnership deals, merchandise, and advertisements. Moonbirds are just the genesis.

VeeFriends takes a segmented approach to utility for Series 2 holders: some token holders receive access to certain events, but not all. For example, the recent wine release was mostly allocated to Series 1 holders, but Series 2 Rare Robot Spectacular and Evolving Pose holders were also eligible to receive wine.

Proof has not announced if Mythics will receive utility or not but will likely need to find creative ways to market Mythics so value partially accrues to Mythics but really drives back into Moonbirds as the genesis PFP collection.

Either way, expect to see much more second series characters as the faces of these brands going forward.

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