In the Autumn of 2008, Uniqlo announced the introduction of “HeatTech” moisture absorbent exothermic wear in overseas markets.

The “Human Vending Machine” left Japan and made a month-long tour of five major cities in the world, New York, London, Paris, Beijing and Seoul.

We also turned loose “Heat Tech Men” wearing futuristic silver body suits, who measured the body temperature of passers-by with a thermograph and led them to the Human Vending Machine whenever they found someone with low temperature.

By setting up the Human Vending Machine in areas that drew big crowds, such as Times Square in New York City, the machine created a great rush of people who wanted to operate it themselves. In every city, 4,000 pieces of free HeatTech wear distributed via the Human Vending Machine that “sold out” in several hours.

This unique, global campaign originating in Japan was covered by a total of212 different media all over the world and instantly became the biggest news in the fashion world. As a result, the sale of HeatTech exploded worldwide and the month after the promotional event Uniqlo achieved sales of 357 billion yen (from September 2008 to February 2009), which was 13 percent greater than last year, and the highest-ever profit since it was established.