Maru, the Japanese cat made famous on YouTube for jumping in and out of boxes, puts his talents to work as the star of a new campaign for Uniqlo. To celebrate the opening of their San Francisco store, Maru appears in a new commercial, doing what he does best- jumping in and out of boxes. The boxes (or cubes) in the Uniqlo ad are ‘lucky,’ containing prizes that viewers can win. When Maru chooses his box and hops in, viewers can win prizes ranging from Uniqlo items to blimp rides. ‘Lucky Cube With Maru‘ promotes the Japanese retailer’s opening of their first San Francisco location; viewers can also win prizes in the game from Maru’s human co-stars- digital mp3 downloads from Goapele, a local San Francisco musician, and an exclusive secret recipe  from local chef Danny Bowien.

Uniqlo’s promotion for their San Francisco store is part of a larger ‘People’ campaign that uses local faces as the ‘celebrity’ brand ambassadors. The inclusion of Maru shows how popular user-generated content can transcend a YouTube video into relevant advertising.

Play the ‘Lucky Cube with Maru‘ game on the Uniqlo website, and check out the ad below:

Uniqlo