Duracell is dedicated to advancing equality not only in representation but also in perception.

So when Tom cheated on Ariana and then publicly shamed her for not fulfilling outdated gender roles around the house; specifically not buying batteries for their household, we could not stand quietly by. Our campaign flipped the media narrative around Ariana championing the phrase “I buy my own batteries now” as a statement of independence among women and ultimately helping Ariana take her power back and come out on top.

Objectives:

- Give Ariana a platform to take back her power

- Put and end, once and for all, to Tom’s ludicrous narrative

- Nationwide support for Ariana

- Shift the media narrative from scorned girlfriend, to Ariana coming out on top

Duracell partners with Ariana Madix to make her the new spokesperson for the brand and create an ad that, although on its surface is about batteries, has an entirely different meaning to anyone paying attention to her situation. And, in that ad, we used every feature of the Duracell Batteries she’s selling as a very public dig at her philandering ex-boyfriend to reclaim her power and put her back on top.

With Ariana Madix, we didn’t just partner with any Vanderpump Rules cast member because the show was trending – we jumped on a completely organic and viral mention of batteries during a pinnacle point of the season end. We were inspired to turn the idea of someone buying their own batteries into an empowering rallying cry for independent women everywhere.

Mobilizing at the speed of pop culture Duracell’s internal and agency teams came together to brainstorm and workshop how to amplify the cultural moment in the most impactful way. It quickly became clear that the real opportunity was to make this timely partnership about new beginnings for Ariana and the importance of not settling for anything less than premium. Focused on targeting the demographics that watch Vanderpump Rules, we reached out to Ariana’s team to set our campaign into motion.

Duracell wrote the ad and secured a campaign partnership with Ariana Madix within days of the Tom Sandoval claiming that the reason she was betrayed was due to not purchasing batteries for their home. We shot, edited, and produced the campaign, in under ten days, to go live on TikTok and Instagram hours before the season finale of the show which was a live recap of the cast members’ interactions that season and had captivated the nation. Within hours, the millions of likes and reach on Instagram and TikTok pushed the campaign into further placements on OTT and Amazon Streaming, specifically around more episodes of the same show, Vanderpump Rules.

Within hours of release our campaign had generated millions of views, hundreds of thousands of likes and shares and ultimately resulted in 6.9 billion impressions nationally and internationally. The campaign made national news within twenty-four hours of release and was picked up by 100+ publications within the U.S. and abroad. The campaign reversed a four year downward trend of brand awareness for Duracell ultimately resulting in a 10% lift in brand awareness nationwide. And, most importantly, the campaign changed the narrative of Ariana Madix in the media from scorned girlfriend into sharp businesswoman, capitalizing on her situation and taking back her power. Since the incident Ariana was able to move out and buy a house of her own.