The company Stanley 1913, a water bottle company commonly known as Stanley, showed a true act of kindness and compassion when a video recently went viral on TikTok. TikTok user @danimarielettering posted a video about a car fire she recently had. The video showed her car was completely destroyed. Her dashboard was melted, her seats charred, but standing proud in her cup holder was her Stanley Cup. She even pulled her cup out of the cup holder, shook it, and discovered there was still ice in the water bottle after it had been in flames. That was crazy how it could withstand such temperatures yet remain ice-cold! The TikTok went completely viral with a whopping 34.7 million views that are still climbing.
The CEO of Stanley created a response video and said they are not only so proud that her cup showed the true brand quality but also that she was okay after the fire. They have now offered to send her new Stanley Cups, which retail at approximately $35 each, but also replace her entire car. The CEO said this was the first and last time they would do this, but it is truly amazing to witness this act of kindness from such a large company.
Not only did this woman just earn free water bottles and a brand-new car from Stanley, but she also single-handedly made the made TikTok users Stanley “stans.” With as many views as her video got, she is providing a priceless amount of free marketing for the company. If they were to collaborate with an influencer, even with millions of followers, their video would never have the impact that @danimarielettering‘s did.
This creates an amazing opportunity to turn a tragedy into a happy ending all thanks to Stanley reaching out and doing the right thing. I personally know a family friend whose house tragically burned down and nothing was left except for a Yeti bucket. When he Instagram DM’d them the photo of the only standing item that survived the fire, they just told them they were glad he was a loyal customer. My family friend was upset, but didn’t expect Yeti to send him free products. When other brands got wind that Yeti never sent him anything, they stepped in. Brands like Hydroflask, Stanley and Rugged Road sent him tons of gear.
Popular big brands send influencers PR packages all the time and think nothing of it. This time a brand stepped up and changed this woman’s life all because she supported their company. This shows that some brands do care about their customers and their customers’ impact on the company.
In my opinion, Stanley 100% did the right thing by offering to send her new water bottles, there’s no doubt about that. When I was watching the video my jaw dropped when they said they wanted to buy her a new car and told her to check her direct messages. It made me happy that a successful brand can change someone’s life so easily when they choose to do so. Stanley definitely didn’t have to gift her a car, but I think it was an amazing act of kindness to witness. The company needs more recognition for the life-changing present they gave this customer.
