Liquid Death Dives In

Does water need branding?

Liquid Death thinks so, and it’s built a billion-dollar brand around selling the planet’s most abundant resource.

After 10 years as a graphic designer and advertising creative, Mike Cessario founded Liquid Death in 2018.

Legend has it Cessario attended a concert sponsored by Monster Energy drinks. Musicians were drinking water out of the cans to stay hydrated. He started thinking about using that same edgy energy drink branding for a healthier product like water. He even pitched the idea to a client.

The client didn’t bite, but Cessario launched Liquid Death a few years later.

To be clear: The company sells water. But its entire push is around using branding to shift the perception of water from purity to punk rock.

As Liquid Death’s brand has grown, it’s started dabbling on marketing’s biggest stage – the Super Bowl.

The Shape of Water

In 2022, Liquid Death aired a regional ad during the big game depicting kids (and a pregnant mom) chugging from 16 oz. cans, ending with the tagline “Don’t be scared. It’s just water.” The company used a proven concept and spent about $100,000 on the ad.

For last year’s Super Bowl, Liquid Death launched the “Biggest Ad Ever,” a tongue-in-cheek offer to sell ad space on the side of cases of water. The ads promise to reach more than 200 million shoppers who visit retailers where Liquid Death is sold.

This year, the brand is taking a more traditional approach and will air its first full-fledged Super Bowl ad. Given the company’s size and existing exposure, Liquid Death realized a surprising truth about Super Bowl ads – they’re kind of a bargain.

There’s “no cheaper way to reach over 100 million unique people who actually want to pay attention to the commercials,” Cessario told Adweek.

Liquid Death’s big push has some other strategic rationale. The company recently launched soda-inspired products, creating a need for new messaging even with engaged customers and audiences.

And Liquid Death is gearing up to go public — and is valued at $1.4 billion.