Reliability was in short supply in 2020. Which made it the perfect time to relaunch DieHard batteries in a big way. Advance Auto Parts enlisted the help of the world’s greatest action hero, John McClane, the living embodiment of reliability, strength, and grit. But he wasn’t coming back for a mere cameo.

Advance Auto Parts created a heart-pounding, quip-filled short film that perfectly captured the essence of the Die Hard canon. To build hype, we recruited influencers—including Bruce Willis’s own daughters—to drop an unbranded trailer. The hashtag #DIEHARDISBACK pulled double duty as a teaser and a rallying cry.

After the release of the two-minute film on FOX NFL, multiple stories ran on USA Today, People, Ad Age, The Late Show, and other major media outlets. Millions of people engaged with the film online and it was such a hit, an encore presentation ran during the World Series.

DieHard. Was. Back.