The Stanley Cup: From trend to ick
How did an oversized piece of camping kit take over the wishlists of tweens? This is the rise and fall of the Stanley Cup.
Chapter 1: The Stanley Cup before it became the Stanley Cup
In 1920, William Stanley Junior created the unbreakable bottle by accident. And back then there was only one obvious target audience: blue collar workers. Not 13 year olds.
100 years later, in 2020, the brand’s social media was still focusing on the unbreakable USP of their cup. Instagram posts were filled with outdoorsy-type adventurers, bringing their Stanley Cup on camping trips.
So what changed? How did this brand become a sipping sensation in what feels like 24 hours?
Chapter 2: #Watertok makes the Stanley Cup famous
It wouldn’t be the first time that TikTok has made a seemingly boring product viral. Remember that magical veggie chopper? Or the carpet scraper?
The Stanley Cup first went viral on the #watertok, a TikTok community keeping the girlies hydrated.
Soon it began appearing on our FYPs, around the same time the ‘clean girl aesthetic’ went viral. We began filming GRWMs with our slicked-back buns, and the Stanley Cup became Step 1 in our 10-step routine.
It did WONDERS for the brand. Just look at this from Google Trends:
Source: Google Trends
Chapter 3: How’d it become a hit among ‘the kids’
There’s a theory going around at the moment that young people (and everyone else) these days spend so much time online because they have no ‘third place’; or a space that’s neither home, nor school, where you can relax.
That’s why teens turn to TikTok — they can switch off and let their mind wander in peace. But when teens have no third place, or a hobby they can sink hours into, they might, allegedly, supposedly, become more susceptible to buying into trends.
With no considerable money worries, serious cases of FOMO and TikTok as their third place, young people fall quickly into the viral trap.
That’s what happened with the Stanley Cup. Young people’s FYPs ended up being flooded by the super-sipper. And although they have no real need for a tumbler the size of them, it became a symbol of status among peer groups. No dupes would do — it had to be the Stanley Cup.
This ‘trend’ snowballed and the growth caught the eyes of the Stanley Cup’s marketing team. Next there were pastel colours, limited edition packaging, a Valentine’s Day drop: and everyone went WILD for it. Maybe too wild.
Chapter 4: From trend to ick
Cups were flying off the shelves. Demand was crazy. Santa’s elves were working overtime just to get the Stanley Cup under the tree.
Then the videos started appearing online of parents arguing in supermarket aisles, physically grappling over the last one. Kids were opening their presents, unable to hide the disappointment if they unwrapped a cheaper, but just-as-good, tumbler. Or worse, throwing full-on tantrums if they didn’t get one at all.
Watching these videos felt almost dystopian. We came face to face with our consumerist ways and it was uncomfortable. People started to call out how ridiculous the trend had gotten. Memes started appearing of people making fun of the Cup’s outrageous size.
Soon, the trend turned into an ick for so many. Including me. Now I can’t sip on the go in peace without the image of a lady slogging around her wheelie bin popping into my head.
The title of this post is probably a bit hyperbolic. I don’t doubt that the Stanley Cup will be around for years to come — it’s an institution. But it feels like we’re at the tail-end of its trending status. At least for now.