Stanley Tumblers are PEAK Consumerism

What was once a symbol of your eco-friendly lifestyle has now become a status symbol - with people owning whole walls of reusable bottles to show off online. The latest and largest name to take over this scene is the Stanley Quencher.

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Script: Jordan Tucker
Editor: Kim Su
Project Manager: Lurana McClure Rodríguez
Host: Levi Hildebrand

[sarasays...]

My husband has a Stanley cup he’s used for ages, he works construction. And now he’s embarrassed to leave the house with it 😂

[joermnyc]

My wife wanted one, but an animal sanctuary we follow came out with their own Stanley-like bottle, and we figured $45 for a Stanley, or $35 to help out a charity. What did her co-workers say to her, “oh, it’s a FAKE Stanley.” Really, workplace bullying over a charity water bottle?

[flaval]

I've been quite amused by the sudden furor over these mugs. I worked for years in a store that sold Stanley mugs & saw them completely overlooked by customers searching for Yeti or RTIC or even Tervis, so seeing those same customers suddenly lose their minds over Stanley tells me just how gullible & easily led the public is. Working with the public really jades a person, lol.

[PhrozenFox]

"Wow this is eco friendly, so the company only needs to make one and I can use it forever. I'll buy 15 of them per year."

[setaindustries]

Let's see if this ticks the boxes on the consumerism scale:
- Minimalist design? Yes
- Comes in many colors/paintjobs? Yep
- Has a brand identity? Yes I would say so
- Promotes a "lifestyle"? Yup
- Do you need one in your life? Probably not

Yes, I would say this is peak consumerism

[Scantronimus]

As a Canadian, I severely misunderstood all the excitement over a “Stanley cup”.

[Paldasan]

We are dealing with the same people who buy SUVs for city and suburban driving, people who follow fast fashion and who blindly follow and believe whatever talking head or celebrity is most popular this week. They aren't interested in being responsible consumers, they have too much of their identity invested in being part of the herd.

[strigiformsW]

I was an Electrician that worked in northern Canada for ten years before deciding I wanted to do something else with my life and went back to university. I was so surprised to see all the kids wearing Carhartts and using Stanely products all of a sudden. Very strange world.

[ashraile]

I work dual at Starbucks / Target. There was a line at 7 A.M. to get these bottles. One woman stayed overnight outside just to be first in line. The bottles sold out within 10 minutes of opening. Frankly ridiculous, no wonder some of these people have massive consumer debt.

[Ril_van_Buren]

Terence Reily is the single most important factor in this story. He worked at the company that pioneered sneaker drop culture -- limited editions that sell out quickly and drive massive consumption. Then he went to Crocs to become the CEO. He implemented the same formula there -- limited editions, with celebrity backing promoted through social media to drive massive sales. He is credited with saving Crocs as a company. Then Reily became the CEO of Stanley where he is doing the same thing.

[zelbelreader]

I have one and love it.

I would not buy more than one. For me, the issue isn't the price (though expensive, it's supposed to last forever). It's the fact that people are stockpiling water bottles, when the point of a water bottle is reducing waste. You only really need one.

[benzracer]

I do not have a Stanley cup, but I do have a Hydrapeak. I bought it because of the very reasons you listed at the end, two glasses (tumblers) of water is a much more achievable goal in a brain than 8-10. The moment I realized that the Stanley thing was getting out of hand was when some random person on the street asked if my cup was a Stanley lol.

[tobybartlett]

The President of Stanley is the same man who was the Chief Marketing Officer of Crocs. He’s taken manufactured scarcity, celebrity product placement, odd partnerships (like KFC Crocs) and jumping on viral moments to a whole new level of marketing. Everything he touches seems to turn into a fad (which of course ends and then people are stuck with whatever terrible products they thought they needed).

[MusicByAllonaMayost]

When someone asks if I got a Stanley cup, my response is always “no, I don’t even play hockey.”

[jamesrichards]

These people (particularly the ones scrambling for the limited edition cups) make me almost physically sick with second-hand embarrassment

[Wuzzup]

As a Stanley Quencher owner myself, this makes me sad. It's a really good reusable cup and entire walls of them go unused because "Collection." Much like a whole garage of supercars.

[bscholer]

That "Subaru" that Stanley gifted that lady is very much a Mazda 😅

[BagznBirdz]

This just proves that ANYTHING can be made into a fashion choice. A Stanley cup is an accessory just like a handbag or a phone.

[caressmonet]

I could never put my finger on why I hated consumerism before, but now I get it. It's peak I-need-external-validation behavior.

[Rattlerjake]

I still have my dad's green Stanley "Thermos" that he took to work every day. He bought me one for when we'd go hunting - it kept the coffee and hot chocolate hot ALL DAY!