Heineken Made a Bottle Opener That Forces You to Stop Working

The pandemic blurred the lines of work/life balance. There was nowhere to go, nothing to do, and your work laptop was always nearby. Responding to work emails at all hours became normal.

Heineken wants workers to shut down at a decent hour and sit back with cold beer and good company. The brand’s solution is “The Closer,” a bottle opener equipped with Bluetooth that put your laptop into sleep mode when you open a bottle.

Promoting the multifunctional bottle openers is a 2:20 ad, created by Publicis Italy/Le Pub, that shows just how out-of-hand juggling work life and personal life has become.

It begins with a rooftop happy hour that’s bustling with people. We pivot to find one friend stuck at work on a Zoom meeting. His colleague brings him a bottle of Heineken and when he cracks the bottle, his desktop goes dark. When the co-worker opens his bottle, the entire office building loses power.

Next we see a woman at happy hour Zooming with her boss. She needs a quiet place to think, so she takes her laptop to a bathroom stall. The laptop shutters, WiFi is lost, but the good news is the boss’s connection also disappeared when her assistant opened a beer. The phenomenon travels the globe, with cities going dark—even Times Square ads went black.

“For a Fresher World” closes the ad, marking the debut of Heineken’s new mantra.

“Creative work will challenge the obvious, the stereotypes and the tired clichés,” says Josh Egan, U.S. brand director for Heineken. “The campaign is inspiring people through inventiveness and wit to stop overworking and open their minds to what can happen after work.”

Heineken made 25 openers, which will be up for grabs stateside in a one-day contest on June 8. Additional contests and markets will follow throughout the summer.

If you don’t snag one, there’s still a chance to win something. The first workers who use Heineken’s Calendar Closer to block off time to prevent after-hours meetings will receive beer money for post-work imbibing.

CREDITS

HEINEKEN
Sr. Director Global Heineken® Brand: Bram Westenbrink
Heineken® Global Communication Director: Daniela Iebba
Heineken® Global Digital Director: Rob van Griensven
Heineken® USA Marketing Communications lead: Joshua Egan
Heineken® USA Brand Manager: Joe Conti
Heineken® Brand Global PR Lead: Jonathan O’Lone
Heineken® Global Digital Production Manager: Bram Reukers

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, MAIN ASSETS, DIGITAL ASSETS
PUBLICIS ITALY/Le Pub
CEO Le Pub Amsterdam, Global CCO Publicis Worldwide & Global CCO Publicis Groupe Italy: Bruno Bertelli
CEO Publicis Italy, Global CCO Publicis Italy & Le Pub Amsterdam: Cristiana Boccassini
Global CCO Publicis Italy & Le Pub Amsterdam: Mihnea Gheorghiu
Global Executive Creative Director Publicis Italy: Andrey Tyukavkin
Global Executive Creative Director Le Pub Amsterdam: Milos Obradovic
Global Creative Director Publicis Italy: Eoin Sherry
Creative Director Publicis Italy: Luca Boncompagni
Senior Copywriter Le Pub Amsterdam: Christopher Penman
General Manager Le Pub Amsterdam: Eleni Charakleia
Global Client Service Director Publicis Italy & Le Pub Amsterdam: Paola Natellis
Group Account Director Publicis Italy: Ilaria Castiglioni
Account Director Publicis Italy: Benedetta Neri
Project Manager Le Pub Amsterdam: Carolina Van Maasdijk
Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Le Pub Amsterdam: Charles Laporte Aust
Global Chief Strategy Officer Publicis Italy & Le Pub Amsterdam: Bela Ziemann
Strategy Director at Publicis Italy: Monica Radulescu
Global data strategist Le Pub Amsterdam: Ilko Petkov
Chief Creation Officer Publicis Italy: Francesca Zazzera
Head of Video Production Publicis Italy: Anna Sica
TV Producer Publicis Italy: Barbara Brown

MAIN ASSETS PRODUCTION COMPANY
Production Company: DIVISION
Director: Francois Rousselet
DoP: Paul Guilhaume
Executive Producer: Jules de Chateleux
Producer: Aurelie Bruneau

MAIN ASSETS POST PRODUCTION
Post-Production Company: The Mill Paris
Producer: Claire Garraud
Post Producer and VFX Supervisor: Stephane Pivron
Editor: Adriana Legay
Editor Prodigious (cut down 30+15): Enrico Munarini

MUSIC
Original music: Justin Hurwitz
two time academy award winner

DIGITAL ASSETS AND PRODUCT DEV
PUBLICIS ITALY/Le Pub
Global Account Director Le Pub Amsterdam: Derek Muller
Head of Delivery Le Pub Amsterdam: Siebren Benedictus
Head of Digital Production Publicis Italy: Vittorio Cafiero
Creative Director Publicis Italy: Diego Tardani
Senior Art Director Le Pub Amsterdam: Santi Urso
Associate Creative & Design Director Publicis Italy: Valentino Borghesi
Art Director Publicis Italy: Joao Araujo
Copywriter Publicis Italy: Ruben De Barros
TV Producer Publicis Italy: Sabrina Sanfratello
Social Media Director Le Pub Amsterdam: Ali Hares

DIGITAL ASSETS – Boomerang. Part of Publicis Groupe
Chief Creative Oficer: Eldin Fetahovic
Chief Production Officer: Fikret Fetahovic
Chief Commercial Officer: Alexander Veltman Executive
Creative Director: Rico de Lange
Senior Creative: Bruno Lopes
Senior Creative: Santi Urso
Account Director: Charlotte Grotenhuis
Senior Project Lead: Manja Schuurhof
Senior Project Manager: Ilse Carpay
Digital Producer: Esteban Cuenca
Digital Producer: Bronson Wilson
Digital Producer: Vic Krens
Post Production Supervisor: Paulo Pennings
Post Production Lead: Yulia Vinchon
Lead Editor: Mike Duistermaat
Senior Editor: Anton Veselov
Colorist: Cyriel Roumen
Director: Frits Taberima
DOP: Olaf van Dam
Senior Producer: Laura Thrower
Focus Puller: Maxime van Erp
Gaer: Ernst Jan Thieme
Best Boys: Patrick Galvin + Tessa Holmes
Make Up Artist: Fieke Brokkelkamp
Stylists: Saskia de Vos / Christi Batelaan
Food Stylist: Hans Hogervorst 

Dentsu RedStar (Media)
Global Client Director: Kate Hinz
Global Strategy Partner: Richard Wright
Strategic Digital Director: Ricardo Lopes

Global PR: Fast Horse; Edelman

U.S. LAUNCH EVENT:
Production company: Picrow
Director: Sergio Cilli
EP: Dal Wolf
EP: Anthony Ficalora
Producer: Susan DePalma
DP: Tom Banks
AD: Gabriel Blom
Production Designer: Edmund Levine

U.S. Launch
Agencies: Canvas, Fast Horse, Rogers & Cowan