• by Danielle Oster , February 11, 2025

In the opening frames of Liquid Death’s debut Super Bowl ad, a white and gold can emerges with a splash, surrounded by ice, copying classic beer commercial tropes.

While the brand name is visible in the introductory shot, the “Mountain Water” description is semi-obscured throughout. The scene shifts to a gold can cracking open, and then a woman tossing an airplane pilot a can while the voiceover begins: “Drink on the job.”

The ad might initially have looked like an invitation to drink during working some perilous jobs – from the pilot to a surgeon, a judge and school bus driver. It’s the kind of approach that can capture viewers’ attention through its seeming absurdity, ending with the line, “Don’t be scared. It’s just water, and iced tea” -- a reassuring message, to anyone who hadn’t already realized the joke.

“There’s no faster way to reach about 120 million people” than advertising during the Super Bowl, Andy Pearson, vice president of creative at Liquid Death told Marketing Daily. “We already have a massive fanbase and very strong demand for our beverages, but being in the game allows us to very easily reach people who don’t know we’re just better-for-you drinks,

Liquid Death’s own in-house creative team created the spot, along with its production arm, Death Machine.

“The response has been exactly what we were aiming for,” said Pearson. “People have told us over and over again how many conversations it sparked with people in their living rooms, especially in houses where some people knew us and others didn’t.”  He noted that ad engagement platform EDO found it 704% more effective than the average Super Bowl ad this year” “Our best work always takes the piss out of marketing somehow, so what better way to do it than by making a beer ad for water and iced tea?”

Other recent marketing from Liquid Death in that vein include its “Misfortune Cookies” campaign and a hot tub giveaway promotion in partnership with gopuff.