by Maeve O'Connell (7th)

Remember when it used to be Hydroflasks? When people used to carry those around? I have nothing against Hydroflasks: they’re well insulated water bottles and there’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe that’s why they were popular, and why Stanley reigns supreme. The real question is: How did they become popular?

In November 2023, there was a video on social media of someone’s car burning down. At the end of the video, their Stanley water bottle is the only remaining thing from the fire and its water was still cold. You might think that this is a strange way for something to get popular, but it’s true! This was almost a way of accidentally advertising the company’s products, and boosting their demand.

The company Stanley has existed for 110 years, having started in 1913. They have quite a history, as they’ve been making insulated products such as water bottles for more than 100 years, their water bottles were used by pilots in World War II, but reached their fame many years later due to viral videos.

Ironically, they were originally advertising their water bottles as for the more adventurous and outdoorsy people, who wanted their water to stay cold on hikes and such. Now they’ve become a trend and are still growing in popularity.

However beloved they may be right now, practically the same thing happened to Hydroflasks, they just aren’t as popular anymore when people find something that they think is cooler, better. It’s only a matter of time until this happens, but it’s not like they just don’t exist anymore, people just stop thinking that they’re the be all and end all of their life.

Image Citation:

"Stanley Water Bottle." Goldstein, Lily. 26 May 2023. Bon Apetit. https://www.bonappetit.com/story/stanley-black-friday