Close Encounters of the Canned Kind – The Story So Far
It began with a flicker.
On 3 January 1954 every screen on the planet dissolved into monochrome snow for 5.3 seconds. One ghost-frame flashed through the static:
“We’ll win you over – while you drink it in.”
Engineers in Parma archived the reel, labelling it FOUNDING YEAR – ZACMI, and life moved on. Or so we thought.
Act I – Close Encounter of the First Kind
Seventy years later the sky turned theatrical.
An ice-filled bucket hovered above the Eiffel Tower, then Westminster, the Colosseum, Times Square, the Forbidden City and the Brandenburg Gate. No engines, no noise – just perfect stillness and a cargo of precision-sealed cans.
Headlines the world read
- “We’re thirsty for contact.” — Paris was the beginning.
“We came chilled, not stirred.” — A second encounter was confirmed above London; the pattern was impossible to ignore. - “Romans had emperors. Now they have visitors.” — Rome was the third city; Caesar would have had questions.
- “Not your average rooftop delivery.” — Contact intensifies: now over New York.
- “Did you log the chill?” — Beijing joined the contact zone; a fifth object hovered above the Forbidden City.
- “Whatever it is, it respected the pedestrian zones.” — The sixth arrival was in Berlin; they were no longer just visiting.
Six monuments, six polite—yet unexpected—intruders: a pattern too neat to ignore.
Act II – Close Encounter of the Second Kind
When the objects left the skylines, they slipped into daily life:
- dozing in a baby’s cot, next to the pacifier
- swinging alone on a playground seat
- claiming a place on the morning Tube
- stretched out on the sun-drenched shoreline
- hitching rides in bicycle baskets
- curled up in the dog’s bed
No bark, no screams, no panic, no fuss – just chilled composure.
It was clear: They filled among us.
Then the clouds unzipped. Tiny red-and-green cans descended on pin-prick parachutes like well-mannered tourists. Air-traffic control marked them non-ballistic, perfect formation.
Their broadcast looped a single line: “We come in… cans.”
Act III – Close Encounter of the Third Kind
The final waypoint is set: drinktec 2025, Munich – 15–19 September.
Rumours speak of a mother-ship – technology “out of this world”, yet grounded in 70 years of ZACMI know-how – preparing to touch down.
Join the First Official Contact
Follow the trail of sightings to Hall A5 | Stand A5-362 and step inside the ZACMI zone. Experience an immersive reveal that blends cosmic imagination with engineering precision – proof that an invasion of quality is truly under way.
Reserve your boarding pass; the countdown has started.
We come in cans. See you in Munich.
Keep monitoring #CannedEncounter for live updates on LinkedIn. Technology that’s out of this world is closer than you think.