RadioShack, LimeWire Came Back With NFTs for Nostalgic Fans

The age of the reanimated brand is stumbling forth to a new future. Formerly irrelevant retailers and torpedoed platforms of yore are clawing their way from brand history into today’s zeitgeist—but in some cases, the association with the original brand is only skin deep. Following two bankruptcies and an acquisition by Alex Mehr- and Tai Lopez-owned holding company Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), RadioShack rose from the grave and shuffled to social media, unleashing a near-constant stream of crude, R-rated commentary that has gone on for weeks and prompted an astronomical surge in social engagement. Meanwhile, LimeWire has also emerged from the netherworld. In 2010, the platform was shut down due to copyright infringement, but over a decade later, the brand has returned to reestablish itself as a legitimate venture. Neither RadioShack nor LimeWire is precisely what it once was. RadioShack was previously the ubiquitous purveyor of electronics, dotting every strip mall across the U.S. Meanwhile, '90s kids cut their teeth on music and entertainment piracy—and learned a thing or two about malware—in the labyrinth of LimeWire. Now, both are nonfungible token (NFT) marketplaces out to capture consumer attention and make cryptocurrency collectible purchases simpler and more mainstream, in particular playing off potential consumer nostalgia for their brands. In terms of generating attention, it’s working. And in RadioShack’s case, it’s hard not to look. But what kind of longevity do these zombie brands have, and are they just out to devour the attention and cash of the fans they once inspired? RadioShack’s strategy bears little resemblance to its past, while LimeWire carries on the brand’s connection to the music world, if not its associations with piracy. About that RadioShack social strategy RadioShack is hitting shock value and the "rogue social manager” strategy with reckless abandon, with results that are crude and often overtly sexist, eliciting a constant stream of disbelief from followers. At first, many believed that the brand had been hacked, but as the weeks trailed on and people examined the reputations of those who had purchased the brand, it became clear that the pivot was entirely intentional. But will the strategy pay off in the long run? Analysts and experts from marketing and tech think not. “They seem to be trying to create controversy to promote their crypto play,” said Jean Foster, svp of marketing and communications for the Consumer Technology Association, who thinks it’s probably an unwise move if the brand truly wants to tap into the consumer electronics category again. “RadioShack was a storied brand, and this could turn off that core consumer base.” RadioShack CMO Ábel Czupor, the mind behind the brand’s social strategy, did not respond to Adweek’s requests for an interview, but told Input magazine the goal was to get people talking about the brand. And it has done that: RadioShack’s activity has drawn in hundreds of thousands of new Twitter followers since it committed to its new, horny tone, and Czupor said that as of early July, 30 million people had clicked on the brand’s profile since its revival in spring 2022. Czupor also maintained the brand is “way cooler than it used to be.” Then again, “cool” seems to be a matter of opinion. Lee Kebler, director of worldbuilding at innovation and design consultancy Journey, is unimpressed with RadioShack’s R-rated social activity. “RadioShack is now RadioShock and is all of a sudden ‘edgy’?” he said. “They sold soldering irons and RC cars. Come on, RadioShack, chill out—we used to be friends.” Simply put, the brand claims to be targeting an older generation, but its social media presence can be off-putting to many of those potential customers. And it doesn’t seem to have a strong connection to the brand it once was. “I don't think anyone is thinking about the legacy of RadioShack and making sure that it is preserved for future generations so that the values of the great retail brand endure,” said Douglas Rushkoff, professor of media theory and digital economics at Queens College/CUNY. “This is about selling things.” A zombie with a soul? In contrast, LimeWire is leaning into its own history while also establishing more legitimacy and funds for musical artists, and the brand’s connection to the music space is arguably as meaningful now as it was in the past. “We naturally focused heavily on digital collectibles because of the brand's innate link to music,” said Ivis Buric, chief communications officer at LimeWire. “LimeWire was among the first companies to provide people with online access to music back in the 2000s, and it was a key player in the on-demand and streaming world that we now inhabit.” The new marketplace ensures that musical artists get paid for the work peddled through the marketplace, providing additional revenue streams, unlike its past role in music piracy. “By resurrecting the brand via blockchain technology, we are leveraging a fascinating new frontier of technology while also making it accessible to music enthusiasts and fans who aren't crypto specialists,” Buric said. Of course, it also helps that LimeWire's social presence isn’t aggressively R-rated and therefore not at risk of disaffecting those who might be turned off by crudeness. Instead, LimeWire’s launch campaign featuring Soulja Boy’s iconic song “Crank That” was more authentic to its past, evoking what it was like to use LimeWire in the ’90s and what it’s like to discover it again now. Before LimeWire relaunched, fans were still creating memes, Googling the brand and discussing their fondest memories of using the past iteration of the platform, Buric said. She characterized the brand’s current customers as “a healthy mixture of Web2 and Web3 audiences” connecting with LimeWire across social media, Discord and Telegram, and compared them to collectors of limited-edition records. “It's about gathering, exchanging and consuming content that is otherwise hard to find.” NFTs made easy (and trustworthy) Another factor LimeWire and RadioShack share is the goal of lowering the barrier for entry for customers who are unfamiliar with the crypto space. Many NFT platforms require crypto wallets and advanced knowledge of tech and terminology. “Our strategy is to provide a marketplace … where a lot of the technical complexities are handled in the background,” Buric said of LimeWire, and RadioShack seems to be pursuing a similar angle. The two brands also aim to foster trust in a space where the value of currencies and NFTs may spike and fall dramatically, not to mention one that’s rampant with scams—another side effect of a lack of education in the space. Adam Ilenich, head of community at creator-centric NFT marketplace Rarible, said it’s a tall order for brands to overcome the inherent sense of risk in the crypto category. One potential exception he pointed to is Nike, which has generated $185 million in revenue from 67,000 transactions following its acquisition of NFT studio RTFKT, according to Dune Analytics, making it the highest earning brand in the space to date. “The responsibility to educate people on how to safely engage with this new, emerging technology is an industrywide one, and also a deeply personal one,” Ilenich said. Will more brands rise from the underworld? These aren’t the first largely defunct brands that have committed to an NFT-focused future. For instance, in spring 2021, Atari gained attention for creating a new division, Atari Blockchain, and launching nostalgic NFT collectibles associated with its classic games Pong and Centipede. For better or worse, these brands provide examples of how nostalgic fixtures may convince skeptics to revisit them through crypto and metaverse initiatives. “The metaverse presents a new platform for creative brands to reimagine themselves,” Foster said. “Maybe we will see traditional clothing brands come back with outfits for avatars or food brands giving NFTs with a real-life purchase.” Meanwhile, Kebler said, a cohesive, “fully meshed” metaverse is critical for sustained momentum. “As NFTs inevitably grow into owned 3D assets and those assets can be tracked in multiplayer ‘metaverse’ style games and platforms," he said, "I’m really looking forward to decking out my avatar in some Bugle Boy jeans, Reebok Pumps high tops and a Hypercolor T-shirt."

Metaverse

Why RadioShack and LimeWire Clambered From the Grave to Bring NFTs to Nostalgic Fans

They're back, but are the undead companies simply cash-devouring husks, or do their hearts still beat to their original tune?

Jess Zafarris

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Jess Zafarris