Duracell x Ariana Madix leaned into one of the most popular American cultural trends of 2023 by partnering with a top influencer from a reality TV show after a nasty and public breakup. In addition to being packed with easter eggs for fans that drove shares and discussion on social media to ravenous levels (over 6.9 billion impressions), the campaign increased brand relevancy for Duracell 10% after four straight years of decline and, most importantly, changed our influencer partner’s (Ariana Madix) perception within the national media helping her come out on top of a nasty public breakup.

In 2023 in America, a writers’ strike put scripted television on hold and so unscripted TV, and most notably reality TV, became the central focus of the country. At the same time, on one of the most popular reality TV shows,Vanderpump Rules, news emerged that cast member Tom Sandoval had been cheating on his girlfriend of ten years, Ariana Madix.

The entire country tuned in to watch the very public spectacle of Tom Sandoval trying to justify his cheating by publicly shaming her for all of the outdated stereotypical gender expectations that Ariana didnt do for him. One of those things was not buying batteries for their house.

Upon hearing this, Duracell could not stay quiet and commented on a very popular TikTok lampooning Tom and his reasoning. Within days that comment sparked tens of thousands of comments and set in motion a much larger campaign between Duracell and Ariana herself.

Within 10 days, Duracell drafted a script, secured a partnership with Ariana and filmed an ad with her as the new face of the brand; using every feature of the batteries she’s selling as very public digs at Tom.

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So when Tom cheated on Ariana and then publicly shamed her for not fulfilling outdated gender roles around the house; specifically not buying batteries for their household, we could not stand quietly by.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’ll use every feature of the Duracell Batteries she’s selling as a very public dig at her philandering ex-boyfriend. 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 back her power and come out on top.

In a category that is often out of sight, out of mind, and rarely makes it into the cultural zeitgeist, we seized the opportunity to hack this moment of attention for our target Millennial audience. We didn’t want to just make the moment about Duracell, we wanted to match fans’ #TeamAriana energy and stand up for what we felt was right. With easter eggs and clever clapbacks informed by platform-first, deep social listening, we aimed to rewrite the all-too-familiar narrative of women being blamed for the poor actions of men while helping Ariana reclaim her power.

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.