This story appears in the May 2015 issue of strategy.

Silver: Original Idea

People are most proud of home when they’re somewhere else. To prove this theory, Rethink built a custom beer fridge for Molson Canadian, filled it with the brand’s beer and took it around the world. The only way to open the fridge was by scanning a real Canadian passport.

The brand and agency first placed the fridge in areas across Europe, making stops in England, France, and Belgium. When a Canadian arrived with their passport and opened the fridge, everyone was able to enjoy a Molson Canadian. After Europe, the fridge travelled to SXSW and the Winter Classic in the U.S., before going to Sochi, Russia for the Olympics.

The beer fridge went viral, with little to no paid support. The campaign was featured in all of the top 10 news websites in the world (including CNN, USA Today and the Huffington Post). The fridge was also featured on top tech blogs, including Mashable and Gizmodo, as well as BuzzFeed. In total, the Beer Fridge garnered a quarter of a billion online impressions, Molson’s social interaction was up 980%, and the brand held a 20% share of all conversation surrounding the Olympics.

Credits:

Client: Molson Canadian
Agency: Rethink
CDs: Aaron Starkman, Chris Staples, Dre Labre, Ian Grais
ADs: Joel Holtby, Vince Tassone, Christian Buer
CWs: Mike Dubrick, Aaron Starkman, Matt Antonello, Dave Thornhill
Broadcast producer: Clair Galea
Production company: Partners Film
Executive producer: Aerin Barnes
Director: Jonty Toosey
Editor: Marc Langley
Assistant editor: Nick Greaves
Director of photography: Bruce Jackson
Line producer: Neil Bartley
Post production house: Rooster Post, Fort York VFX
Music & sound: RMW Music
Executive producer: Melissa Kahn
Producer (audio house): Steve MacKinnon
Colourist: Eric Whipp (Alter Ego)