KINGSTON, Jamaica — To some, a partnership between a dancehall artiste and a hardware store may seem an unlikely pairing but in the local entertainment industry, anything is possible. The latter proved true when H&L Rapid True Value approached dancer turned artiste, Ding Dong, to be their latest brand ambassador.

But this collaboration isn’t your usual ‘create a jingle, sing-a-long commercial’ kind of partnership, instead it’s a campaign geared at bringing out customers’ happier side through music and of course giveaways.

An excited Ding Dong told OBSERVER ONLINE that when he was approached to be H&L’s ‘happiness ambassador’ he was honoured. Describing himself as a ‘happy person’, the Bounce deejay said he’s always grateful when approached by corporate Jamaica for a campaign.

“I am a happy person. I am always in a good mood or at least I try to be and I make sure my team that surrounds me are happy people. My brand is about displaying happiness, joy, fun across the world and that’s just me being me. I am vibrant, I love bringing people together and so I just want to represent this company and this brand to the highest level,” he said.

“I am always pumped and hyped whenever I’m approached to be a brand ambassador and H&L is a brand I’m buying from for years now and they want me to now be a brand ambassador. It was a great feeling.”

For H&L, teaming up with Ding Dong was a no-brainer as the company seeks to forge a deeper connection with its clientele.

“H&L Rapid True Value has been the leader in home and hardware products, for several reasons, chief among them is the ability to understand and connect our market with our varying product offerings, which we have done with this campaign. Ding Dong is the happiness guru and we at H&L believe it is important to keep our customers happy,” said Gail Abrahams, H&L’s chief marketing officer.

“As our Happiness Ambassador, Ding Dong brings his personality, his songs, his energy and of course, his ability to connect with Jamaicans at all levels within the society. He loves bringing happiness to all he’s connected with and that has resonated with us at H&L as our products cater to all demographics within the society, which we believe can enhance our customers’ lives, bringing them happiness,” she added.

Both Ding Dong and H&L said the timing of the deal was perfect as September is the month the artiste celebrates his birthday and is usually the happiest he ever is.

“As our Happiness Ambassador, Ding Dong will be involved in connecting through appearances and special engagements with our team members and our customers and with his upcoming birthday, the activities planned are just icing on the cake,” Abrahams said.

“This collaboration couldn’t come at a better time because it’s my birthday month. I am hosting my big birthday party at the National Stadium car park with a lot of guests and surprise guests and to know that I8 have H&L on board right now it is on a different level. We sharing a lot of memories and we’re going to be tied together as one family. My fans and supporters will become H&L fans and supporters and so we will create so much memories throughout this month and after,” said Ding Dong.

As part of the campaign, H&L and Ding Dong will be giving away H&L Gift Cards & tickets to their Cabana at the entertainer’s birthday party. From now until September 19, there will be a happiness moves dance competition where three lucky fans can win a $50k gift card from H&L and two tickets to their VIP Cabana at the birthday celebrations.

To enter, fans should post a 15-30 second video in any H&L store of them dancing to the happiness song, and post it to TikTok, IG, FB and Twitter. Participants will have to follow and tag @hlrapidtruevalue and include the hashtag #HappinessBeginsWithHL. The winners will be announced on September 21.