For decades, Ziploc® has been known in the US as the category leader in food storage bags and containers – their iconic brand name trusted by generations for their high-quality seal and versatile function. And while a large percentage of the population still see them as America’s most trusted bags, it is critical for them to appeal to Millennials and Generation Z. Millennials and Generation Z are driving what’s trending and represent the next generation to enter the world of kitchen and home organization. In light of renewed concerns around sustainability, Ziploc® moved towards becoming a lifestyle brand for the next generation with a focus on new and reusable usage occasions in addition to just food preservation. It was obvious that we needed something to win the hearts and minds of this audience.

Some of the most progressive, imaginative fashion comes from Japan. So, it’s no surprise that when Japanese designer BEAMS COUTURE reimagined actual Ziploc® bags into a line of limited-edition streetwear, the drop was heard loud and clear in headlines around the globe.

But enthusiastic fans in the US were left empty-handed, as the streetwear line quickly disappeared from shelves in Tokyo boutiques. To maximize the momentum generated by the Japan drop, Ziploc® seized the opportunity to earn street cred, tap into Japanmania and the growing nostalgia trend by bringing this collaboration to the US.

To hype up the BEAMS COUTURE x Ziploc® partnership landing in the US, we produced the first-ever Google Translate-enabled streetwear drop via shoppable posters in Japanese.

We activated a socially-driven, city-wide hunt for Ziploc®, leveraging Japanese streetwear and interactive street art and creating the freshest virtual drop ever imagined.

In the US, Ziploc® is fighting to attract new users to the brand to defend against the ongoing threat of private label imitators and reusable storage solutions. One of our hardest audiences to win? The under-30 cohort of younger Millennials and Generation Z.

This audience is social and digitally active, lives in urban metro areas, and is socially and environmentally conscious. They are also prone to nostalgia – they romanticize, rediscover, and reinvent the styles and tastes of previous generations. And their most iconic fashion brands do, too.

By capitalizing on a cutting-edge, Japanese fashion brand’s take on the traditional Ziploc® storage bag, the Found in Translation activation recast Ziploc® bags as coveted collectibles to be used again and again in exciting new ways rather than just in the kitchen.

Ziploc® partnered with the renowned retailer of California cool, Fred Segal to create an innovative e-commerce experience. We created hidden product pages on their website, and the night before the launch on April 4, peppered the streets of Los Angeles with wheatpaste posters featuring the URL. The catch: the URL was written in Japanese.

As an in-store press event got people buzzing about the drop on social media, fashionistas took to the streets to find the posters and unlock the secret shop using the Google Translate app to translate the URLs. The items were unavailable for purchase in store, playing into the thrill of the streetwear hunt.

By reimagining the idea of a fashion drop, Ziploc® turned a handful of handmade accessories into an unprecedented level of street cred.

For Ziploc®, earning street cred amongst young, fashionable trendsetters is as provocative as it gets. But how do you measure street cred? It starts with your audience. Fred Segal and five LA tastemakers helped Ziploc® deliver over 600K impressions[1] to Millennial/Gen Z audiences[2], driving engagement over 6X higher than Ziploc®[3] and helped Ziploc® become the #1 most searched brand on FredSegal.com, despite numerous competing campaigns[4]. Audiences were universally delighted, seeing it as "the collab I've never expected...BUT I LIKE IT", "bringing school lunch to a whole new level", creating "a Ziploc moment" that made them want to "Pop, ziploc and drop it"[5]. And the campaign took flight, making city-wide headlines as "one of the more intriguing collaborations of recent memory"[6] and answering "Why Ziploc® Bags Might Be The Freshest Find In Festival Fashion This Season"[7], earning 27.5 million impressions[8] and making America's #1 food storage brand a whole lot fresher.