Duracell | Moments of Warmth | 2014
Hold Hands, Get Warm / Duracell "Moments of Warmth"
Hold hands and the heater turns on—that's all it takes. In the dead of a freezing Montreal winter, this experience landed at exactly the right moment.
The problem
In the winter of 2014, Montreal was hit by a record cold snap. Battery brand Duracell, promoting its new Quantum product, teamed up with agency Cossette to build a special shelter at a bus stop. Cold weather and human distance turned out to be a perfect match for this idea.
The insight
A battery only works once positive and negative connect. The shelter had electrode marks on both sides, so when people held hands, they completed the circuit. In other words, the idea was to turn people into batteries. When it's cold, people tend to avoid touching strangers—but the reward of warmth flipped that instinct around.
The idea
Two or more people would step into the shelter, hold hands, and touch the sensor, and warm air would blow down from the ceiling. At a bus stop in front of Lionel-Groulx station, the heater wouldn't turn on unless at least two people were present. The footage captured people's faces breaking into smiles from the warmth, overriding any awkwardness about holding a stranger's hand.
What happened
The video was viewed more than 800,000 times, and the hashtag #PowerWarmth spread as well. Duracell also built in a mechanism to donate $1 to Habitat for Humanity Canada for every share.
Afterthought
"Get close to someone, and you get warm"—it's as simple as that. But because it's so simple, it reminds you of something you'd forgotten. Batteries aren't something people usually think about, so I love how boldly they used an experience like this to plant the brand name in people's minds.
Featured in
- Alone, You Can't Reach ItAn ad that isn't finished until one more person shows up.
