After fire destroys woman's car, but not her Stanley tumbler, company steps up
What if your car burned to a crisp and all you had left was your Stanley drink cup?
That’s exactly what happened to Danielle Lettering last week.
In a viral video that had more than 82 million views as of Monday night, Lettering shows the charred remains of her car, which is clearly destroyed. But sitting in the cup holder is her Stanley.
“Everybody’s so concerned about if the Stanley spills," she says in the 14-second video posted on Nov. 15. "It was in a fire yesterday and it still has ice in it."
Thousands of TikTok users chimed in, with one saying: "Stanley better cut you a check after this advertisement."
The TikTok got the attention of Stanley’s president, Terence Reilly, who decided to offer Lettering quite a bit more than another Stanley cup for her trouble: A new car.
How did Stanley respond?
In a TikTok video that stitched the Stanley's response to Lettering’s initial video, Reilly said that "we have all seen your video."
"Wow. What an ordeal. And we’re all really glad you’re safe," he said. "Thanks for sharing the video. It really shows how our Stanleys are built for life … I couldn’t think of a better example of our product’s quality."
Reilly mentioned seeing a lot of comments asking the company to send Lettering some Stanleys.
“Well, we’re going to send you some Stanleys," he said. "But there is one more thing. We have never done this before and we will probably never do it again, but we’d love to replace your vehicle.”
Reilly told Lettering that she should check her direct messages for more details.
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What does Lettering think about Stanley’s gift?
Lettering is in awe that the company would offer to buy her a car, saying in another TikTok that she almost passed out after seeing Stanley’s response video.
“That is crazy. I cannot believe they’re going to buy me a car," she said in a TikTok posted over the weekend. "I mean, the Stanley was the only thing that survived in the car fire."
She told her viewers that she has not been drinking out of the cup but joked that she may keep it as a memento engraved with: "Survived the fire of 2023."
“I’m so so grateful to Stanley for doing this and I feel blessed beyond belief," she said. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I know everybody says that, but it hasn’t.”