The Closer was inspired not by other technology, but by a problem that seems to be only getting worse. To make a subtle nod to the irony that we’re creating a piece of technology to help you fight overuse of technology to do work, we built the case of The Closer to look like a popular smartphone.

The device is being launched with a campaign that doesn’t just introduce the product as a new way to get over overwork, but also helps start a conversation about finding work-life balance.

The Closer was born from the insight that people, especially Gen Z, are struggling more than ever to create healthy boundaries between work and life. With smart-working, the lines of when you should work and when you should disconnect have blurred. It’s a serious issue, one that we know we can’t solve with a single stroke, or a single beer. So The Closer is not meant to be just a smart solution, but a cultural provocation that pushes people to realize that logging off and creating healthy work boundaries can be easier than they think.

The device launches Heineken’s entrance into the conversation of overwork with the hashtag #WorkResponsibly (A play on Heineken’s #EnjoyResponsibly initiative), that will allow us to continue to help people create boundaries for a more fun and refreshing life.

The expectations of The Closer and the accompanying campaign is to provoke people to realize that clocking out can be easier than they think. That work-life balance is attainable if we just remember to disconnect.

We initially created 350 devices, launching in the US, along with countries like Canada, Brazil, Denmark, Argentina, Vietnam and more also releasing the devices.

The devices can continue to be produced by our manufacturing partners to match growing demand from consumers and markets.

The Closer was even featured in an unboxing video from international tech and innovation YouTuber Austin Evans where he tested and validated the device. Austin Evans has over 5.3 million YouTube subscribers and over 1.2 billion views.

The campaign will launch June 1, so as of now, we do not have any results.

The Closer is Bluetooth connected and works with both Mac and PC laptops and desktops. Once the device is connected via Bluetooth it will close your work by putting your computer to sleep when you open a beer.

The Closer’s opening prongs are two separate pieces of steel so when they touch a bottle cap, the circuit is closed. Then the accelerometer detects when you lift The Closer to remove the bottle cap and sends a signal to your computer to go to sleep.

The signal is a macro of a keyboard shortcut.

For Mac the shortcut is:

Option - Command - Power button

Or

Option - Command - Eject

This puts your Mac to sleep, and even makes you leave your video call.

For PC the shortcut is:

Dedicated sleep/hibernate button.

This puts your Mac to sleep, and even makes you leave your video call.

The Closer is complete and live in markets as of June 1 with more batches coming soon.