Is my favorite prop an aluminum briefcase?
Cash. Drugs. Weapons.
In pop culture, that’s the entire hierarchy of what fits inside an aluminum briefcase. It’s precisely this shady expectation that makes it the ultimate marketing secret weapon.
Metal Briefcase Shadiness of Contents Scale
In this essay, I argue that an aluminum briefcase is one of the most versatile and high-impact things you can own. And not a $30 cheap knock-off from Amazon, but a quality aluminum briefcase like those made by Zero Halliburton (the OG) or Rimowa.
You might be thinking, “am I serious?” Absolutely. People have been exposed to metal briefcases in popular movies and TV shows like Inception, James Bond’s Quantum of Solace, Men in Black, Mission Impossible, Stranger Things, the Avengers, and hundreds more. As such, almost everyone has a perception of what one is used for, and the use is almost always nefarious. This preconceived perception makes it easy to create surprise when people see what your metal briefcase is used for.
For a metal briefcase that wants to live a righteous life, its dream scenario is to be used for one thing: presenting cash prizes. If your event involves a cash prize, there is no better way to deliver it! Everyone knows the rankings:
In an aluminum briefcase and let them keep the briefcase (the gold standard).
A money gun (cool, but messy).
Counting bills out on stage (memorable).
Running it through regular payroll (the absolute death of joy).
“But Ami, the cash prize won’t fill the briefcase.” Ok, now you’re just looking for excuses; there are solutions.
First, it takes about 5,000 bills if you want to fill a classic Zero Halliburton Geo-Aluminum briefcase with bills. You could put a cushion under it to create height. Or, pad it with prop money from PropMoney.com, the prop money that all the studios use when they need fake cash to look like real cash.
If the briefcase isn’t used for carrying cash, the possibilities are endless. Things get more interesting when you start commissioning custom inserts for the briefcase to hold specific items. Once you own a nice metal briefcase, you might as well get the most out of it by designing increasingly niche inserts for it.
Case in point: I had a custom insert built to house a complete Blue Blazer flaming cocktail kit for the original Dinner by Dynamics executive dinners—stainless steel tankards, overproof whiskey flask, long-stemmed Bic lighter, and a very prominent First Aid Kit. When you pop open a metal briefcase to reveal a controlled fire hazard, your attendees pay attention.
Lest you think this is a weird obsession of mine, back in 2015, the high-end headphone brand, Master & Dynamic, announced a long-term partnership with Zero Halliburton.
The case, at left, included a pair of MH40 Over-Ear or MH30 On-Ear Headphones, a matching boom microphone, and a matching stand, all packaged together in a sleek Zero Halliburton aluminum travel case.
The kit was so cool that Ryan Reynolds jumped onto that collaboration to add his own collaboration which included an Aviation Gin cocktail kit inside the case and Aviation-branded engraving on the outside of the case.
You can even store the Glengarry leads, a set of steak knives, and brass balls in an aluminum briefcase as Alec Baldwin’s character did in the most famous scene from the movie, Glengarry Glen Ross.
Whether you're carrying steak knives, sugar cookies, or high-stakes field marketing assets, the medium is the message. Want to build unforgettable executive dinner experiences that close deals instead of snore-fests? Let’s talk.
