The Purpose

In a world that is increasingly divided and opposed to diversity, Molson Canadian set out to prove that cultural diversity doesn’t have to divide us – it can bring us together.

The Challenge

Designing an experience that brings Canadians together, champions diversity and prominently features the brand's product at the same time.

The Insight

Agency Rethink designed an experience that celebrates two of the most cherished parts of the Canadian identity: multiculturalism and drinking beer.

The Molson Canadian beer fridge recognizes languages, and you need six different languages to open it. The idea is that if people with various backgrounds and cultures worked together, they could open the fridge and everyone could share a beer.

The Execution

Canada is a land of many nationalities, so the agency needed to ensure the fridge would be able to detect any language spoken. The team reached out and partnered with Google to access its Speech to Text API (not commercially available), which transcribes a user's’ recorded speech to text. From there, the transcription was compared to translations of the “I am Canadian” phrase in the supported languages via Google’s Speech recognition API. The detected language name then appeared on one of the six display slots on the fridge.

The Impact

The fridge was an instant domestic hit and became a beacon of celebrating Canada’s diversity. It became a trending topic in Canada. Moreover, the fridge was reported in major publications around the world including: TIME, USA Today, ABC, BBC News, CNN, NBC, Fox News, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times.

The fridge continues to be used for client events across the world. Following the recent U.S. presidential election and subsequent policies, the Molson Canadian “Global Beer Fridge” experienced a resurge of social sharing and admiration for the brand.

To date, more than one billion people have seen the Molson Canadian “Global Beer Fridge.”