Persuasion Notebook offers quick hits on the business of persuasion from The Globe and Mail's marketing and advertising reporter, Susan Krashinsky. Read more on The Globe's marketing page and follow Susan on Twitter @Susinsky.
For Canada Day last year, Molson Coors Brewing Co. built a beer fridge that could only be opened by scanning a Canadian passport. This year, just after landing an award in Cannes for it, the company has revamped the patriotic campaign. It is asking Canadians to sing for their suds.
The fridge has now been installed with software that can detect whether people sing the national anthem correctly. Once a successful rendition of "O Canada" is complete, the door opens and free beer awaits.
The campaign, created by ad agency Rethink, has taken many forms this year in some of the company's most high-profile marketing. The fridge has been to a number of events, including the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Molson sent a fridge to the remote Gili Islands in Indonesia to give a Canadian living there a taste of home. The company has said the campaign helped it to grow market share.
The karaoke fridge will be in Ottawa for Canada Day.