SEALED AIR ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR FIRST-EVER BUBBLE WRAP® APPRECIATION DAY HALL OF FAME

Fans to Choose from Three Popular Videos to Decide Who Will Be the Inaugural Inductee
Sunday, January 6, 2013

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. – Ever since inventors Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding turned a  concept for acoustic wallpaper into a pop culture phenomenon from a garage in Hawthorne, N.J., fans of Sealed Air’s Corporation’s Bubble Wrap^® brand cushioning have discovered ingenious uses for the popular packaging material. Many of these creative ideas are showcased online, as thousands of fans have uploaded videos showing off their imaginative Bubble Wrap^® brand cushioning innovations.

Today, Sealed Air is giving fans a chance to vote for their favorite videos on www.BubbleWrapFun.com to decide which video should receive the highest recognition — induction into the first-ever Bubble Wrap^® Appreciation Day Hall of Fame. The Bubble Wrap^® Appreciation Day Hall of Fame was created to recognize fans worldwide who exemplify the passion, fun and creative uses of Bubble Wrap^® brand cushioning. Voting starts on Jan. 6 and the victorious video will be announced on Bubble Wrap^® Appreciation Day on Jan. 27. 

Fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite videos through Jan. 17 to determine which of the finalists will be inducted into the Bubble Wrap^® Appreciation Day Hall of Fame and be awarded with a giant bale of commemorative Bubble Wrap^® Appreciation Day Hall of Fame Bubble Wrap^® brand cushioning. 

“Bubble Wrap^® fans have displayed a great deal of creativity and the ability to turn the one and only Bubble Wrap^® material into something new and exciting outside of its intended use,” said Rohn Shellenberger, Business Manager, Sealed Air. “The Bubble Wrap^® Appreciation Day Hall of Fame is a place to forever enshrine fans’ ingenuity with us.”

Three finalist videos were selected by a Sealed Air Corporation panel from among thousands of videos worldwide. This year’s Bubble Wrap^® Appreciation Day Hall of Fame finalists include:

“Bubble Wrap Bike” - Eric Buss, Burbank, California - Eric Buss shows off his creation, the Bubble Wrap Bike. The video became “pop”ular this year, amassing over 1.5 million views. 

“JoJo’s Bubble Wrap Praise Break” - Kevin Fredericks, Tacoma, Washington – Kevin’s son Jojo shows off his amazing tap dance on Bubble Wrap® brand cushioning.  

“Cats vs. Bubble Wrap” - Chase Holiday, Los Angeles, California - Bubble Wrap^® brand cushioning material is no match for these fun felines. 

More On Bubble Wrap^® and Bubble Wrap^® Appreciation Day
Bubble Wrap^® Appreciation Day is celebrated every year on the last Monday in January. The originally intended use for Bubble Wrap^® was entirely different than how it is used today. Inventors Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding originally developed a plastic they hoped to market as textured wallpaper. When that idea did not take off, the inventors began to have some success marketing the product as a greenhouse insulator.

Chavannes then realized that Bubble Wrap^® brand cushioning could be used as an improvement from paper and old newspapers for cushioning fragile items. Once the opportunity was identified, the inventors worked hard on the manufacturing process for Bubble Wrap^® cushioning in an effort to create an ideal packaging material. After a lot of tinkering, they developed a special, proprietary barrier protection which prevented air from leaking and resulted in the crisp “Pop” that Bubble Wrap^® is famous for. 

About Sealed Air

Sealed Air Corporation creates a world that feels, tastes and works better. In 2012, the company generated revenue of approximately $7.6 billion by helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals in the face of today’s biggest social and environmental challenges. Our portfolio of widely recognized brands, including Cryovac^® brand food packaging solutions, Bubble Wrap^® brand cushioning and Diversey^™ cleaning and hygiene solutions, ensures a safer and less wasteful food supply chain, protects valuable goods shipped around the world, and improves health through clean environments. Sealed Air has approximately 25,000 employees who serve customers in 175 countries. To learn more, visit www.sealedair.com.