By: Brianna Stewart
After the Big Cup Battle, most are left with doubts about their own water bottle choices. Should they switch brands? Which brand offers the better functionality? What is comfortable to carry every day? Would it surprise you if I said a company would go as far as setting a car on fire to promote their water bottle?
In November 2023 a TikTok user, Danielle Lettering, posted her Stanley Tumbler after it was inside a burning car. She noted no permanent damage to the tumbler and said the ice inside was still there, jiggling the cup as she said it. In the video, you see the Stanley Tumbler unscathed from the fire and the car notably burnt and out of commission. She then praises her Stanley Tumbler- even though her car can’t be used anymore. In response to this video going viral Stanley Global President Terence Reilly said “We’ve never done this before and we’ll probably never do it again, but we’d love to replace your vehicle”. Along with replacing Danielle’s vehicle, they were also going to supply her with more Stanley Tumblers.
This blew up all over social media which led to the company gaining more recognition. Could this boost in tumbler sales be connected to this event? Probably. If people believe that Stanley Tumblers can withstand a car fire then that boosts its functionality, making consumers opt for the Stanley Tumblers over any other brand they might see.
Do you really think the Stanley Tumbler cup, lid, and straw coils survive a fire? A TikTok user named Daniel Gerstel bought a Stanley Tumbler and put it in a smaller fire to test its durability. Inside the tumbler was ice and ice cream. After placing it into the fire for a few minutes he noticed the straw and lib started to melt and fall into the cup. After a while longer the straw, lid, and handle of the Tumbler had melted off. The paint on the cup was noticeably burnt and the contents left inside of it melted completely. His video caused many to question the authenticity of the original video.
With the new evidence gathered do you think Stanley might have faked the original video and responded to it? If a small fire could damage the paint, lid, straw, and handle how could it survive mainly intact after a car fire? You could analyze the difference in the materials of the cup, but would that solve the problem? Why would Stanley burn a car completely, stash a half-burned tumbler in it, and post it on social media? Marketing. The amount of coverage that happened during that time boosted Stanley Cup sales. That video reached millions of people and perhaps switched them to the Stanley Brand.
We can only agree on one thing: Stanley Tumblers cannot withstand close proximity to fires but can survive if they are close to a fire for a small amount of time. This means if a Stanley Tumbler is in a fire for a few minutes it is possible for it to survive. If they are in a fire for an outstanding amount of time permanent damage can be seen after it is taken out. It is inconclusive if the video is real or if it was a marketing scheme by Stanley. There are many situations or different perspectives that could be made to further prove their durability. There are also other ways to market Stanley Tumblers without burning a car. Perhaps if more information was given to the public we could better assess the situation and figure out if we want to use Stanleys rather than buy them because a viral video shows that it's “fireproof” or “fire-resistant”.