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The hype is very real around these reusable water bottles that revive, in a way, the era of the ‘cult of the drop’ in the fashion universe.
The Stanley Quencher reusable water bottles -large, in matte tones or with metallic and shiny finishes- have revolutionised the internet with a large fan base on TikTok: a platform where they unbox and review the product, leading a kind of euphoric and consumerist movement reflected through videos of customers storming shelves to get their hands on one of their glasses.
This cup-turned-status-symbol reached its peak last year thanks to Reilly, a former marketing director at Crocs for five years.
Just as he turned Crocs into a reputable fashion brand, his powerful marketing strategy has also put Stanley at the heart of the system; he swapped utilitarian camping photos for aesthetic collections of pastel-coloured mugs and videos of fan events in Los Angeles.
The power of subliminal marketing
This century-old company, founded in 1913, which started with a bottle invented by William Stanley after fusing vacuum insulation and the strength of steel into a portable bottle, has not made a viral impact until it was projected on TikTok.
An ascension that he also carried out in a roundabout way with a TikTok video of a woman showing a Stanley cup that had apparently survived her car fire. An event that set the internet alight, even before Stanley, through Reilly, promised to replace the woman’s burnt-out car (and send her free Stanley cups).
The viralisation of consumerism
The $40 or so bottle has then gained popularity over the past few years thanks in part to the exclusivity that orbits it, and its limited edition versions, as was the case with the Valentine’s Day one. In recent days, videos have emerged online showing customers crowding the displays of the bubblegum pink and cherry red Stanley.
That collective obsession with the product was revived two days ago with the Stanley x Starbucks collaboration with a $49.95 mug that hit the shelves with an avalanche of people wanting to get their hands on the limited edition bright pink cup. Now that cup, as with most of their limited editions, is reselling for over $200 on platforms such as eBay, Etsy and Mecari.
