Some things Ozzy Osbourne says you should absolutely never do with Liquid Death’s electrolyte drink mix:

• Snort it
• Freebase it
• Inject it
• Boof it

Just mix Death Dust with water to stay hydrated, OK?

Ozzy leans out of an SUV window, brandishes a skull-tipped walking stick and defines “boofing” for two teens in an LD spot breaking today. Awesome!

Wonder if he partied much back in the day? He sure could use some hydration in 2024.

Looks like the whole budget went for the High Flyer’s salary. But that’s part of the charm. The man himself is so genuine, and the premise so middle-school naughty, it’s impossible not to crack a smile.

“Ozzy is a huge fan of the brand,” says Liquid Death VP of creative Andy Pearson. “We’ve wanted to do something with him for years. And we recently began sponsoring The Osbournes podcast.”

When the brand introduced Death Dust some months back, “We included a line telling people not to snort it,” Pearson says. “And the response on social was immediate and hilarious.”

“So for our second round of work, we figured: Why not go to one of the foremost experts when it comes to putting all kinds of stuff in their body.”

Keith Richards is like: “I could’ve played that!”

Of course, Liquid Death loves to skirt societal taboos. 

Consider its recent ad with The Deep from Amazon Prime series The Boys smoking in a classroom filled with kids. Youngsters also featured in a cheeky regional Super Bowl spot from 2021, downing LD tallboys (pure mountain water!) as if they were chugging beer.

As the wink-wink bad-boy brand du jour, Liquid Death can get away with shit others wouldn’t dare try. Except boofing Death Dust. Just say no!

Who needs buckets of gore, gross plastic surgeries, glory-hole shenanigans or enemas to shock?

For Liquid Death’s latest marketing naughtiness, pairing kids and cigarettes in the same commercial gets the job done fine.

The tykes don’t smoke, natch. But The Deep from Amazon Prime’s The Boys sure does.

In the spot below, hyping LD flavored sparkling waters, series star Chace Crawford dons the scaly suit and visits a classroom, schooling pre-teens on the dangers of sweet sweet sodas.

After feeding one youngster a glass of sugar and riffing on associated health issues (like erectile dysfunction), the Deepster lights up. 

“Basically, sugar is the new smoking. If you’re gonna drink a ton of sugar, you might as well smoke a ton of cigarettes, too.”

“You like sugar now?” he asks, hacking at the students.

The whole thing’s a goof, of course. It pushes hot buttons in an effort to generate breakthrough buzz with a wink and a puff.

It’s weird and disconcerting seeing a commercial character smoke—especially with kids in the room. Harkens back to the 1970s—and even then, such imagery was frowned on and vanishing from mainstream media.

The approach follows a similar team-up from 2021, after which LD “fired” The Deep for setting plastic trash ablaze.

The cigs campaign packs a similar punchline:

“He wanted to make things right and approached our team to help with something he knows a lot about, health,” the brand says in press materials. “However, we had no idea he’d go this far. Although we’re very serious about the dangers of too much sugar in soda, we do not condone his methods of handing out cigarettes to kids or smoking in an enclosed classroom with children present.”

“So once again, we’ve decided to fire The Deep, effective immediately, as our Health & Wellness Ambassador. We will never be working with him again.”

All joking aside, does LD fear a backlash? Or, maybe controversy’s grand in this context?

Vice president of creative Andy Pearson believes the strategy is justified.

“Everybody knows about the addiction and dangers around cigarettes now,” he tells Muse. “But some 20oz bottles of soda can have more than 70 grams of sugar hidden inside. That’s about double the recommended intake of sugar by the American Heart Association for adults.”

“Maybe one day the fact that big beverage companies market their drinks to all of us—including kids—will feel just as wrong,” he says.

LD lambasted Big Soda in May with its faux Pure Sugar beverage intro. Here, the Deep brandishes a bottle of the stuff for continuity. The brand last tweaked cultural taboos around young people in 2022, with underage drinkers (around 8 years old) pounding down canned-water tallboys in a regional Super Bowl spot. (That one generated some social chatter, but no real outcry.)

No porn stars, voodoo dolls, rampaging zombies or enemas? Can this really be a Liquid Death campaign?

Indeed it is. The water that comes in aluminum containers is giving away its biggest tin can yet. And this one flies!

Thirsty top gun wannabes who enter by Sept. 4 could win an Aero L-39C Albatros fighter jet valued at $400,000.

Emblazoned with branding, the vehicle is dubbed “The Dehydrator.” Because, streaking through the clouds at 470 miles an hour, “It will relieve you of your bodily fluids and make you empty your stomach,” LD says in press materials.

Yes, the winner will legally own the plane. They’ll also receive a year’s supply of Liquid Death, six months of free hangar space, a pilot’s helmet and a cup holder. No aviator’s glasses, sorry.

The promo riffs on a Clinton-era Pepsi initiative gone awry.

“About a year and a half ago, there was a documentary on Netflix about a giant soda company who put out a commercial saying it was giving away a jet,” LD VP of creative Andy Pearson tells Muse. “But when a kid actually tried to claim the prize, they said it was just a joke.”

“Here at Liquid Death, we take the fun marketing that goes into promoting unhealthy stuff like beer and energy drinks and sodas, make it even wilder and funnier, and then point it at something much healthier.

“So we said, ‘If this other company didn’t even plan on giving away a jet in the first place, what if we set out to do exactly that?'”

It’s a two-seater. You can fly a friend to work or school. Now, let’s get in one more dig at Big Soda:

“This is definitely the biggest thing we’ve ever done,” Pearson says. “It’s just part of our continued mission to make people laugh and help them pick alternatives to drinks full of sugar that come in single-use plastic bottles.”

Even finding the right people was tricky. We originally cast folks using a slightly different direction and method, but decided to change course last-minute because we realized we wouldn’t be able to get the right results. With a real-person prank like this, there’s so many variables. Yet, you have to feel confident that you’ve designed the experiment perfectly and considered every contingency.

We also had to get the right look. At the last minute, we threw in a PTZ camera—in addition to our two other cameras—that would capture everything from a different angle, almost in the style of a security camera. The purpose of the PTZ footage was to break the saccharine world of the commercial and make the footage feel real.

On the shoot day itself, you’re always unsure how it’s going to go. But you’d be amazed by how willing people are to go along with something once cameras roll. And in this case, we weren’t disappointed.

Most people were genuinely confused once they realized the product was literally pure sugar, but remained polite. A couple even pushed back and asked if it was a joke. They were assured it wasn’t. (Spoiler alert: It was.) Ultimately, everyone gave their best auditions for this insane product.

After their auditions, our “director” (really our EP who co-directs our videos with me now) would give them a Liquid Death to “wash it down.” The genuine reactions we got from people after they were handed a can of LD were bonkers. Several straight-up said they love Liquid Death (IN AN AUDITION FOR A FAKE COMPETITOR). A few mentioned that they loved how it was very low in sugar. A few just said, “Yum!” after taking a sip.

In fact, most of that footage didn’t even make it into the final edit because it almost felt like we had faked the whole thing. (Spoiler alert: We didn’t.)

The best part was when our “director” was done, and the actors were led through a curtain and brought to the room where we’d been watching on monitors. They were informed we were all with Liquid Death.

Almost everyone was genuinely stoked to learn who we were and what we were up to. In fact, the kid in the final shot who tells the viewer to not be a loser freaked out. He told us he had just been telling his mom about how much he loved Liquid Death ads and wanted to be in one someday.

Well, happy birthday, kid. You’re in a Liquid Death ad now.

Let’s look as goth on the outside as we feel on the inside. Glothar will show us the way.

This cut-rate black-metal rocker/Kiss reject/Alice Cooper wannabe helps introduce “Corpse Paint,” a cheeky makeup line from Liquid Death and e.l.f. Cosmetics.

The stuff goes on sale today in cute coffin boxes. So, kick back with a cool glass of vegan goat blood and heed Big G.’s wacky pitch below:

Liquid Death promises that “Corpse Paint” will make users absolutely “gore-geous.” Dark pun, dudes. Way dark.

“We’re an entertainment brand that happens to sell healthy beverages,” LD vice president of creative Andy Pearson tells Muse. “So, when the opportunity to work with e.l.f. popped up, we wanted to use it to do something truly wild. Treating ‘Corpse Paint’ like the hottest new look seemed like the most obvious idea.”

“We love partnering with people who don’t seem to make sense for us on paper,” he adds, noting past efforts with Metallica and Martha Stewart (who doubtless rocks “Corpse Paint” behind closed doors).

As for the video, “this was truly one of the most fun shoots we’ve done,” Pearson recalls. “As soon as they came into the room wearing their makeup, we all said, ‘Holy shit. This is going to be good.'”

“Also, a fun little easter egg is that Debra at the end was in our ‘Enema of the State Collectible Enema Kit’ video as a woman who was in a band called Festering Corpse Puke. So there’s an entire Liquid Death universe out there.”

Indeed there is. And we just live in it. With painted faces.

For the best results, LD pun-derously advises…

• Use Brush with Death to apply Eye Die all over the face, pressing into skin.
• Swipe lips with Kiss of Death, then apply in large circles around the eye area. Blend out.
• Create irregular, jagged lines with Dead Line around the edges of the lipstick.
• Mattify skin and set the look by spritzing Dead Set over the entire face.

It does wash off, right? Eventually? RIGHT!?

CREDITS

e.l.f. Beauty:
Chief Marketing Officer: Kory Marchisotto
Chief Creative Officer: Ashley Rosebrook
Chief Brand Officer: Laurie Lam
Brand Director: Brooklyn Boston
VP of IMC: Patrick O’Keefe
Creative Director: Nimrat Brar
Production Director: Jessica Khan
Director of IMC: Alexandra Kasper
Director of IMC: Chelsey Duckworth
Senior Campaign Manager: Neiv Toledano
Social Media Manager: Chelsea Carey
Manager, Content: Nayre Bandaryan
AVP, Brand Voice: Desi Gallegos
Associate Editorial Director: Drew Taylor
Senior Copywriter: Richard Quigley
Head of Packaging and Sustainable Design: Laura Otani
Senior Design Director, Packaging: Mickenzie Noguera 

Liquid Death:
Co-Founder/CEO: Mike Cessario
SVP of Marketing: Dan Murphy
VP of Creative: Andy Pearson
VP of Marketing: Greg Fass
VP of Design: Frank Dresmé
Creative Director: Will Carsola
Associate Creative Director: Stu Golley
Senior Brand Manager: Tia Sherwood
Senior Nihilist: Brendan Kelly
Senior Graphic Designer: Kellen Breen
Social Media Specialist: Kendyl Blakeney
Executive Producer: Johnny Eastlund
Senior Producer: Cookie Walukas
Senior Producer: Tatianna Rodriguez
Production Coordinator: Rylee Brown
Director of Photography: Kelsey Talton
Production Designer: Ryan Brennan

Butter Music and Sound:
EP: Annick Mayer
ECD: Tim K
Sr. Producer: Stone Irr
Composer: Nat Jenkins
Music Coordinator: Kriston Poindexter

“We just go wherever feels funniest to us,” vice president of creative Andy Pearson tells Muse. “When people are hungover, they say they feel like zombies. We simply decided to take them at their word.”

“It’s never about the gore,” he hastens to add. “It’s about creating pieces of entertainment that subvert the idea of what marketing can be. Sometimes, it’s blood-covered people getting on with their days. And sometimes it’s a recycling glory hole.”

The Death Dust push follows anti-Super Bowl shenanigans that involved an eBay auction for ad space on LD packages. Dude Wipes claimed they won. But they actually didn’t. That honor went to Coinbase (the SB QR code kingpins from 2022) for slightly more than $500,000.

The confusion generated five bloody more minutes of hype for everyone!

CREDITS

Co-Founder/CEO: Mike Cessario
SVP of Marketing: Dan Murphy
VP of Creative: Andy Pearson
VP of Marketing: Greg Fass
VP of Design: Frank Dresmé
Creative Director: Will Carsola
Associate Creative Director: Stu Golley
Senior Brand Manager: Tia Sherwood
Senior Nihilist: Brendan Kelly
Senior Graphic Designer: Kellen Breen
Director: Ryan Ebner
Director of Photography: Barry Parrell
Executive Producer: Johnny Eastlund
Senior Producer: Cookie Walukas
Senior Producer: Tatianna Rodriguez
Production Coordinator: Rylee Brown
Production Coordinator: Juliet Cobb
Production Designer: Robbie Dalley
Production Supervisor: Rylan Keturi
Office PA: Madison Clapp
Video Editor: Tyler Beasley
Original Jingle: Butter

“Just like a lot of people, we considered buying a spot in the game this year, but the prices have gotten so astronomical, we couldn’t justify it,” Andy Pearson, VP of Liquid Death, tells Muse. 

“Then we realized, when you add up all our top retailers, we are already getting twice as many impressions in stores every single week. So, why not give someone else the chance to reach a big audience who didn’t want to plunk down all that money for an ad in one football game?”

It’d be amazing PR if a rival brand bought the space. C’mon Big Soda, bring on your plastic bottles that last an eternity and make this happen!

“As media keeps fracturing, the Super Bowl is still one moment where culture comes together to have a collective experience so there’s a great opportunity there, whether you want to shell out or not,” Pearson says. 

“That said, there are plenty of Super Bowls happening around us all the time if you really stop to think about it. That’s what we wanted to show here.”

CLICK HERE to watch all of this year’s Super Bowl commercials as they’re released. 

Remember: “Rebel farmers are backwater space scum who don’t deserve a single grain of their wheat. YOU do. But more importantly, the Motherworld does.”

It’s not as yucky as some LD campaigns. But it packs a punch—many, and some kicks, too—powered by the brand’s trademark subversive style and snarky direction by Eli Snyder (son of Zack Snyder, who made Rebel Moon).

“Fantasy and sci-fi partnerships are fun places for us to play,” Liquid Death VP, creative Andy Pearson tells Muse. “The brand already feels like it comes from an alternate universe to begin with. So, it’s a fun process to imagine, ‘What if this world really existed, and Liquid Death existed in that world?'”

“We’ve done it before in partnerships with Zack’s previous Netflix film Army of the Dead, plus a few others,” he says. “In this case, our approach was: If we’re an evil beverage corporation, we would side with the bad guys. Or at least be used as a propaganda mouthpiece for them to impose some draconian measure while appearing to be good on the surface.”

Eli Snyder adds: “Leveraging the real environments used in the film allowed us to maximize the irony.”

So, it’s in-world meta stuff, with some social commentary and military oppression. Cool.

To nail the tone, “We watched a lot of pandering Americana beer commercials as well as oil and chemical commercials,” Pearson recalls. “The stuff where this mega-corp is trying to pull on the heartstrings of working-class America to trick them into thinking they’re doing this all for them, and not for their own gains.”

“I can’t wait to see how many of the Super Bowl ads this year feel just like this—but serious.”

What’s he talking about? Sounds like one of those rebel scum. Call in the troops!

CREDITS

Co-Founder/CEO: Mike Cessario
SVP of Marketing: Dan Murphy
VP of Creative: Andy Pearson
VP of Marketing: Greg Fass
VP of Design: Frank Dresmé
Creative Director: Will Carsola
Associate Creative Director: Stu Golley
Senior Brand Manager: Tia Sherwood
Senior Social Media Manager: Rachael Mumford
Senior Nihilist: Brendan Kelly
Senior Graphic Designer: Kellen Breen
Video Editor: Tyler Beasley
Director: Eli Snyder
Executive Producer (Liquid Death): Johnny Eastlund
Executive Producer (Believe): Liz Silver
Executive Producer (Believe): Vitaly Koshman
Senior Producer: Tatianna Rodriguez
Senior Producer: Cookie Walukas
Production Coordinator: Rylee Brown
Line Producer: Lindsay Feldman
Production Coordinator: Shane Palmer
Director of Photography: Jac Fitzgerald
Production Designer: Henry Arce