Looking to show off how strong and fabulous you are? Glad’s new ForceFlexPlus, a pink, cherry blossom-scented bag, may be just the right way to go.

It's the star of the brand's latest campaign with FCB, which calls the new product “the most extra trash bag ever.”

An ad promoting it feels more fashion than garbage. The 30-second video shows an over-the-top fete attended by glammed-up revelers. A woman in a couture pink dress carries the bag around the house collecting leftover food and decor as the high-fashion party-goers take in the cherry blossom scent. Finally, the host goes outside to toss the waste, looking fantastic as her schlubby neighbor looks on, grasping his leaky, stinky, boring white plastic sack. 

Ultimately, the campaign positions the bag as a kind of accessory that expresses the style and bold attitude of its users.

Also read: When Glad used trash bags as luggage.

“As an agency, we believe the best way to connect with people is to understand their shared values,” said Marc Wilson, executive VP and executive director of strategic inclusion at FCB Chicago. “In this campaign, we used the notion of being 'extra' as a way to culturally resonate with people across different demographics and sociographics who value self-expression and creativity.”  

The campaign came out of FCB’s dedicated Upstream Inclusion practice. Led by Wilson, the offering launched last August and aims to drive more inclusion and diversity throughout the agency's work. 

For the Cherry Blossom trash bags, millennial women were the main target. FCB decided to look beyond demographics and focused on behavior and attitude to see what influences this target audience the most. While the term "extra" has been around for years, it found that being "extra" and owning who you are, regardless of one's identity, is an important value among millennial women. So the agency found a way to align that notion with Glad trash bags.

The Upstream Inclusion team also worked to ensure that the casting and talent involved with the campaign were diverse, all the way from creation of the story to the execution. 

“Our goal is to add joy to otherwise mundane experiences,” added C.C. Ciafone, director of marketing, Glad. “So, we wanted to create a trash bag experience for those that live the ‘extra’ life. The cast lit up the room, bringing beauty and power as a manifestation of the benefits Glad is introducing with our new product line.”