Lucky Cube With Maru
Read the story- Brand
- UNIQLO
- Year
- 2012
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Fashion & Beauty
- Mechanic
- Puzzle
- Platform
- Social
- Agency
- Digitas
Objective
Ahead of opening its first West Coast flagship on Union Square, UNIQLO needed to introduce San Francisco to the brand and its offbeat Japanese sensibility before the doors opened. Pairing the campaign with Maru, the YouTube-famous box-loving cat, and the "made for all" tagline was a bid for viral reach and foot traffic to the pop-up and new store.
Solution
Players logged into the promo site with Facebook and were shown four identical red "lucky cubes," each hiding a prize. A video then played of Maru, the internet-famous cat, climbing into one of the boxes — whichever cube he picked became the player's prize, no further input required. Prizes mixed UNIQLO product, like Ultra Light Down jackets and Heattech gear, with local surprises: an MP3 from singer Goapele, a secret recipe from chef Danny Bowien, tickets to city experiences, and for a few lucky winners, a ride on the UNIQLO blimp. Bay Area winners picked up their prize at the UNIQLO pop-up or the new flagship store; players outside the region received their prize digitally.
Results
More than 250,000 people watched the campaign trailer on YouTube — a new record for UNIQLO at the time.
- 1
The player arrives at uniqlo.com/sf, a promo site marking UNIQLO's arrival in San Francisco, and must log in with Facebook before the game will start.
- 2
Four identical red "lucky cubes" appear on screen, each hiding a different prize; the game explains that the player does not choose a cube themselves — Maru, a cat famous online for climbing into boxes, will choose for them.
- 3
A video plays of the real cat Maru sniffing and investigating the cubes before climbing into one; whichever cube Maru enters becomes the player's cube.
- 4
The chosen cube opens to reveal the prize won, drawn from a set that spans UNIQLO apparel (Ultra Light Down or Heattech), an mp3 from singer Goapele, a secret recipe from chef Danny Bowien, a "San Francisco experience" ticket, or, rarely, a ride on the UNIQLO blimp.
- 5
The player completes a registration screen to claim the prize under their name.
- 6
The player is prompted to post the result to their Facebook wall.
- 7
Prizes are redeemed offline, either at UNIQLO's pop-up space (September 15-16, 2012) or at the new Powell Street store after its October 15 opening, while digital prizes such as the mp3 and recipe are downloaded online for players outside the Bay Area.
