I was wrong.

As my girlfriend can attest, those words rarely come out of my mouth. But I was blind to the appeal of water bottles & tumblers, picking tech over them in the first round of ASI Promo Insanity. My perfect Final Four? Ruined.

Now I stand here, like Biff waxing George McFly’s car, acknowledging the superiority of the underestimated. Water bottles & tumblers have always been a staple of the promo industry, but against some of the sexier choices, they didn’t always hold water. Now, not only do they hold water, but they keep it cold forever. The materials got better, the designs slicker, the packaging more sophisticated.

The promo industry certainly took notice. From 2008-2012, drinkware averaged 5.5% of industry sales. In 2019, it was the second most sold product category, with 9.6% of industry sales. Even last year, when PPE dominated the industry, water bottles & tumblers were among the first traditional promo products to return to the top 10 search terms in ESP.

In hindsight, I’m not sure why I ignored such powerful items. After all, they’ve always been by my side. When I struck out in the ninth inning of my Little League team’s playoff game, it was a Phillies-branded water bottle that replenished that empty feeling. When my 6th grade crush ripped up my candygram during lunchtime, it was a water bottle as black as her heart that consoled me. And when two weeks after getting my license, I swerved and knocked the right-side mirror off my pop-pop’s 2003 Chevy Cavalier, I blamed it on my see-through water bottle falling out of the cup holder. (Maybe that last one isn’t a good example.)

After reflecting on all this heartache (sniffle), thankfully, I have a mint YETI tumbler next to me to catch my tears.

Many people love hats and hoodies, and maybe T-shirts can’t be beat. But as a diehard wrestling fan, you’d think I know a great tag team when I see one. And that’s why water bottles & tumblers look destined for the gold. They come in sleek designs and fun colors. Their stamina is unmatched, boasting a lethal one-two punch of keeping cold beverages cold and hot beverages hot for hours upon hours. They’ve also adapted to changing consumer demands, becoming an eco-friendly alternative to single-use plastic water bottles.

The two-martini lunch may be frowned upon these days, but when it comes to certain public events (say, the movie theater), a sturdy tumbler is the discreet drinker’s new weapon of choice. Of course, COVID-19 has kept you out of those places for a year – another reason to drink!

Now that I’ve replenished my soul and offered a mea culpa to water bottles & tumblers, you should, too. Vote for this trusty duo, and in two weeks, you may be celebrating with a Zoom happy hour, virtually toasting the champions.