Closeup, a Unilever brand for oral and dental care, has recently launched its own Metaverse platform for couples seeking marriage and to receive minted marriage certificate NFTs.
The company’s opened the doors to its Closeup City Hall of Love on the Decentraland platform in late March, allowing bubbly couples across the world to tie the virtual knot in the Metaverse.
The digital City Hall aims to celebrate diversity for those seeking marriage, regardless of gender, race, or class, in a new virtual environment where people can create avatars and explore new horizons.
Couples seeking marriage in the Metaverse can also receive their blessings from an official wedding attendant and mint their NFT Certificate of Marriage to share with loved ones.
The NFT certificate, based on the novel ERC-1155 smart contract, is a semi-fungible token allowing fractional ownership and will remain free and open to all visiting the platform
People attempting to sell the token will receive a “Love is not for sale” warning, according to the firm.
The fast-moving consumer goods giant also launched ‘Love For All’ website to share stories and advice for people in diverse relationships.
A Close Up with ‘City Hall of Love’ Newlyweds
The platform’s first couple to walk down the digital aisle, Jad and Neil, said in a statement that they were happy to be one of the first to experience it and “share this moment with our friends.”
They continued in a joint statement,
“Whilst NFT marriage certificates are not legally binding in any country, nor do they hold legal power under the laws of any country, this experience still matters to us – and for us it is valid. It is important that we normalize relationships like “ours” in every pocket of society”
Two Metaverse pioneers also shared their stories on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which limited their marriage to “only [a] handful of people.”
Kevin and PinkBambii wrote,
“[Thanks] to Metaverse, we got a chance to do it all over again, this time in the presence of our loved ones. And we couldn’t think of anything better than making our love eternal on the blockchain”
Speaking further on the matter, Gaurav Datta, Global Brand Vice-President of Closeup, said his company believed that love of all kinds are special and should be championed.
He explained further.
“Our foray into the Metaverse with Closeup City Hall of Love is another initiative to build safe spaces that celebrate equality and inclusion and inspire people to act on their mutual attraction, free from self-doubt and judgement, so they can experience closeness on their terms”
The news comes after US couple Traci and Dave Gagnon became the world’s first Metaverse marriage after they were wedded on Labor Day weekend on the Virbela virtual platform. The wedding was complete with a toast from Gagnon’s Best Man along with a digital ring bearer and flower girl.
Indian couple Abhijeet and Sansrati were also married in February on the Yug Metaverse, complete with a virtual beachfront wedding, becoming the first Indian couple to marry in the surreal.
