Nissan's Kicks Key: a zip-tie sneaker tag that unlocks the car — Loeries Bronze

The all-new Nissan Kicks compact SUV takes its design cues from sneakers, and in the GCC sneaker culture is booming — drops sell out in seconds and events like Sole DXB and Sneaker Con Riyadh draw huge crowds. Nissan needed to launch the car to Gen Z buyers without talking to them like a conventional car brand.

Re-engineer the zip-tie sneaker tag — streetwear's badge of exclusivity — into a working car key, so the car launch becomes a hype drop of 50 units.

Digitas Dubai and product design studio Renata Moura created the Kicks Key: a limited-edition zip-tie-style sneaker tag built with hands-free wireless technology that functions as the car's actual key. Only 50 were produced, reserved exclusively for the first buyers of the new Kicks — no restocks, no second chances — turning a functional object into a streetwear collector's item.

The launch drop framed the car itself as sneaker culture, with the key as the collectible. The work was covered across MENA marketing press as the first sneaker tag that unlocks a car, and Loeries 2025 awarded it Bronze for Industrial & Product Design and Bronze for OOH Direct Mail.

The all-new Nissan Kicks was designed with sneaker-inspired forms, textures and details, but the compact SUV launched into a GCC market where sneakers are more than shoes — they are status, identity and culture, with drops selling out in seconds and events like Sole DXB and Sneaker Con Riyadh drawing massive crowds. Nissan wanted Gen Z to feel the car belonged to that world rather than simply see another automotive commercial.

With Digitas Dubai and product design studio Renata Moura, Nissan made the launch itself behave like a sneaker drop. The team took the zip-tie tag — the throwaway emblem of every hype-shoe purchase — and re-engineered it into the Kicks Key, a fully functional car key built with hands-free wireless technology. Just 50 were produced, reserved exclusively for the first buyers of the all-new Kicks, with no restocks and no second chances.

The object fused the two worlds: a piece every car brand treats as an afterthought became the collector's item that only a car named Kicks could claim. The stunt positioned Nissan as a brand that understands urban youth culture, drew coverage across MENA marketing media as the first sneaker tag to unlock a car, and won Loeries 2025 Bronze awards for Industrial & Product Design and OOH Direct Mail.

The zip-tie sneaker tag is a cultural icon of exclusivity, so reusing it as the key borrows meaning the audience already believes in.

A run of 50 with no restock copies the drop mechanics that make sneaker culture addictive.

The name synergy is the point: only a car called Kicks could turn a sneaker accessory into its own key.

Hands-free wireless technology makes the key genuinely functional, so the idea is an engineered product rather than a costume prop.

It shifts the launch from broadcast advertising to an object people would queue for, reaching GCC Gen Z on their own cultural terms.

Borrow the object your audience already worships: re-engineer the thing they collect into a functional part of your product, and the launch inherits that culture's scarcity and hype.

Launched in March 2025 ahead of the new Nissan Kicks in the Middle East, the Kicks Key was covered by Campaign Middle East, adobo, Communicate Online and other regional outlets as a first-of-its-kind sneaker tag that unlocks a car. At Loeries 2025 it took Bronze for Industrial & Product Design and Bronze for OOH Direct Mail, and Nissan positioned it as part of a broader strategy of brand experiences aimed at connecting the Kicks nameplate with Gen Z street culture in the Gulf.