A woman’s Kia Sorento caught on fire last week and the only thing that survived was a Stanley tumbler, which sat in the cupholder while her car burned. The tumbler made it out unscathed and the Kia’s owner, Danielle, posted a video on TikTok showing the Stanley cup’s durability. The video went viral, accruing over 80 million views since release, and Stanley is now replacing the tumbler in a show of support for the unfortunate Kia owner. It’s also replacing her burnt car.
Make no mistake. This is a major brand being a major online brand, and Stanley is capitalizing on the positive attention Danielle placed on the U.S. maker of the famous vacuum flask. In the video, Danielle pries the tumbler lose from the charred center console and says, “Everybody is so concerned about if the Stanley spills […] It was in a fire yesterday. Still has ice in it.” She shakes the cup and the ice is still intact.
The company taking advantage of the viral video probably doesn’t make the gesture any less welcome for the woman, who’s Kia Sportage burned to a crisp. Stanley’s global president Terence Reilly cited Danielle’s video and posted a message saying they were sending her some tumblers to replace the one in the fire. He then offered to replace her car, adding the company had never done something like that before and would probably never do it again.
From the looks of the video Danielle posted, it seems her Sorento was a third-generation model. These cars were included in a recall issued on September of 2022 for fire risk. Documents from NHTSA show that 2016-2022 Kia Sorento models could catch on fire due to a defect in their tow hitch harness.
Kia and the NHTSA warned owners of the affected vehicles to park outside and away from structures until the recall was addressed. It’s not certain whether Danielle’s Sorento burned due to that specific defect from las year’s recall, but Kia has had to issue a number of recalls lately due to fire risks. Either way, it seems like Stanley is going to replace Danielle’s Kia, which had the misfortune to be immolated, but, at least, had the good fortune of having the Stanley in its cupholder at the time.