Heineken’s ‘The Closer’ Bottle Opener Puts Your Laptop to Sleep When You Open a Beer
Heineken has come up with a tongue-in-cheek campaign to address the real work-life imbalance with a Bluetooth-enabled bottle opener that puts nearby laptops into sleep mode when you open a bottle of beer.
With the rapid adoption of new work technology and a global pandemic forcing a complete overhaul of where and when work gets done, workers have increased their average working day by 2.5 hours, according to NordVPN Teams. All those extra hours can negatively impact overall employee wellbeing, translating to less time spent with friends and family or pursuing personal hobbies.
To address this increasing work-life imbalance Heineken has created “The Closer,” a high-tech bottle opener that “immediately shuts all work applications when a bottle of Heineken is opened with it,” says the brand.
People across the United States will be able to enter for their chance to win a Closer bottle opener on June 8. But fans will have to act quickly, as the promotion will only be open from 10 am – 11:59 pm ET. More devices will be made available in additional markets in the coming months.
“As a brand, we have always stood for creating moments of shared connections with others,” said Bram Westenbrink, Global Head of Heineken Brand.
“With the once-rigid boundaries between work and personal time rapidly deteriorating following the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to spark a much-needed conversation about the importance of resisting the societal pressures to be in a constant state of busy work and encourage workers around the world to reprioritize social and leisure time with the people who matter most.”
The Closer bottle opener will be announced at an exclusive launch event, with a keynote address by Billy Eichner who will unveil the gadget. According to Heineken, by overemphasizing the necessity of such a high-tech marvel, Eichner will remind us all that everyone already has everything they need to close down right at their fingertips.
Apparently, the bottle opener really does put your laptop to sleep a spokesperson told us. But it will not shut down all the lights across the globe. Just in case you’re buzzed from that first beer and worried about such things.
“As people continue to feel like they have to work all the time, they’re forgetting that disconnecting is even an option,” added Bruno Bertelli, Global Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Worldwide, the lead agency that created the campaign.
“That’s why we created The Closer. It’s not just technology; it’s a social provocation to help people see that the pressure to work all the time is getting a little ridiculous and we all have the power to log off and go hang out with our friends again.”
The campaign was created to spark conversation, and for Heineken, it starts by empowering its own employees, who number over 80,000 worldwide.
“While work-life imbalance is an issue felt around the world, it can’t be solved with just one policy change,” said Yolanda Talamo, Global Head of Human Resources at Heineken.
“This high-tech bottle opener is a symbol that acts as a catalyst for change, but the work is ahead of us. We are asking all of our employees to help us identify practical solutions that take into account the cultural nuances in each of the countries we operate in so everyone can enjoy more balance between their work and personal time.”