UNIQLO, the quirky Japanese retailer, was preparing to open their first west coast U.S. location in downtown San Francisco - a city that hadn’t heard of UNIQLO and didn’t know what the brand stood for. To break through in this new market, we decided to bring along an ambassador: Maru, the Japanese YouTube celebrity who also happens to be the world’s most famous cat. Together we created 'Lucky Cube,' an interactive game where by simply logging in with Facebook, Maru would use his famous box-jumping skills to pick a UNIQLO prize just for you. It was a huge success!

Maru’s famous box-jumping antics were the perfect vehicle for giving away our UNIQLO gifts. We called the experience “Lucky Cube,” an interactive game where by simply logging in with Facebook, Maru would select one of four Lucky Cubes just for you! Each cube contained a UNIQLO prize.

From a brand perspective, Maru was also a perfect fit: both are Japanese, playful, extremely web-savvy, and loved by people from all walks of life -- echoing UNIQLO’s “made for all” attitude.

Last but not least, the unexpected partnership got everyone talking: generating press, viral buzz, and much curiosity about the new store.

The game went viral. More than 25,000 people played.  There were write-ups everywhere from TIME Magazine to Tumblr, with 144 blog mentions. Over ¼ Million people tuned to watch the trailer on YouTube -- a new UNIQLO record. It went viral on Twitter, inside and outside of SF, generating more than 11,000,000 Twitter impressions. Most importantly, San Francisco welcomed up with open arms. People lined up around the block to visit us on opening day! Proving that a famous feline, a magic cube, and a great idea, can transform a store opening into a cultural event.