• by Danielle Oster , August 29, 2024

Liquid Death teamed up with cooler company Yeti for a grave collaboration on an item sure to be a hit at a Halloween party.

Liquid Death is auctioning off “The Casket Cooler”   described as a a “life-sized casket for death-sized beverages.” The 85 pound, casket-shaped cooler employs Yeti’s “Triple Foam ColdCell” technology.

The underside of the lids are adorned with Liquid Death’s “Murder Your Thirst” tagline. The cooler can hold 378 12-ounce cans or 252 19.2 ounce cans, without ice added to the cooler.

The brand clarified that “The Casket Cooler” should “definitely only be used” as a cooler (and can’t double as a casket), noting that the internal divider was built in so “you’d have to be chopped in half if you wanted to be put on ice in it,” according to Liquid Death vice president, creative, Andy Pearson.

The brand claims the item is literally one-of-a-kind. Its auction kicked off yesterday and ends at 3:00 PM on Aug. 30.

To promote the auction, Liquid Death also released an ad yesterday depicting a funeral director asking a tearful couple if “The Casket Cooler” is to their satisfaction, and promising the item will “keep your drinks ice cold for an eternity.”

Bidding for “The Casket Cooler” kicked off yesterday at $1,500, and the current high bid” sits at the current high bid  exceeds $42,100 after over 500 bids.

“If you think about it from the perspective of this really being more like a one-of-one contemporary art piece, it’s maybe not too surprising,” Pearson noted. “A few years ago, we sold skateboards with Tony Hawk’s blood in the paint for $500, and they sold out in 20 minutes. Two weeks ago, we launched our limited edition ‘Hot Fudge Sundae Sparkling’ that blew out on Amazon in 7 hours, and this week we’re seeing people listing cases of it on eBay for $200.”

Since launching in 2017, Liquid Death has built its brand on an unorthodox approach to marketing, typically eschewing traditional channels in favor of attention-grabbing stunts designed to generate media coverage and attention on social media channels. This summer, the brand tapped Ozzy Osbourne for a campaign promoting the Death Dust hydration powder it launched earlier this year.

And Liquid Death’s “Casket Cooler” is arguably not even the most out-there item connected to its marketing this summer, as the brand claims it will give away an actual jet at the conclusion of its promotional sweepstakes on Sept. 4.