Heineken Announces Bottle Opener That Aims To Keep Work and Life Balanced

A recent study by technology firm Microsoft found that a new “peak” productivity period has emerged, seeing a rise in work between 9 PM and 11 PM. Researchers for the Redmond-based company, however, could not conclude if this was because of employees taking advantage of the flexibility of Work-from-home (WFH), adjusting to global collaboration, or if employees are working for more extended parts of the day at the expense of work/life balance.

For folks that can’t get away from their job and log off, beer brand Heineken has developed a high-tech solution to uncap beers and go offline to enjoy them without work distractions. The Heineken Closer looks like a typical bottle opener, but the Diageo-owned brand promises it can close down work apps. Heineken will hold a presentation inspired by the technology sector, with a keynote by comedian Billy Eichner at an exclusive launch event.

The Closer is flat and tall, with rounded edges and proportions reminiscent of smartphones. The similarities to mobile devices continue with the shiny, metallic back and white front. Heineken’s signature red star and half the wordmark appear, but there are no technical specifications for the Closer. Still, given its functionality, it is likely to use some sort of accelerometer to detect the bottle opening, Bluetooth to communicate with the device, and software to close apps.

“As a brand, we have always stood for creating moments of shared connections with others,” said Bram Westenbrink, Global Head of the Heineken Brand, via press release. “With the once-rigid boundaries between work and personal time rapidly deteriorating following the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to spark a much-needed conversation about the importance of resisting the societal pressures to be in a constant state of busy work and encourage workers around the world to reprioritize social and leisure time with the people who matter most.”

News of the Heineken Closer comes on the same day that a companywide email from a space-faring internet troll Elon Musk where he unambiguously put his foot down on remote work at Tesla. Musk made it clear to all employees that he expects them in their office a minimum of forty hours a week. When asked over Twitter to provide additional comments to those that think coming into work as a concept is “antiquated,” the occasional SEC target replied, “They should pretend to work somewhere else.”

Heineken Closers will be available to US consumers on June 8th, 2022, starting at 10 AM EDT at www.Heineken.com/closer.

Images courtesy of Heineken.