Ex-Netflix exec hires witch doctor to pump life into 'Liquid Death'
With a brand name like Liquid Death, it’s no surprise to see the self-proclaimed "punk rock" bottled spring water start-up is tapping into the spirit of Halloween to pump up business by hiring a real-life witch doctor to curse its entire product inventory.
Louisiana witch doctor "Mystic Dylan" casts his spell in Liquid Death's new “Certified Cursed Liquid Death” marketing video on YouTube. The spooky spokesman chants in the video, “I call on the waters of Liquid Death and curse it with a witch’s breath. . . Curse this place, invade this product, invade those who would consume.”
Towards the end of the incantation a disclaimer adds, “Liquid Death is not responsible for what the demons do to you if you decide to consume it.”
There is an irony to all the hocus pocus. Despite its punk-rock sensibility, wild brand aesthetics with cans featuring melting skulls and medieval-style fonts as well as a slogan that states "Murder, Your Thirst," Liquid Death is actually a healthy water product.
On its web site, Liquid Death states: "Let's be clear. Liquid Death is a completely unnecessary approach to bottled water. In fact, we strive to be unnecessary in everything we do. Because unnecessary things tend to be far more interesting, fun, hilarious, captivating, memorable, exciting, and cult-worthy than 'necessary' things."
The "About Us" section goes on to ask: "We started Liquid Death with the totally evil plan to make people laugh and get more of them to drink more water more often . . . Why should unhealthy products be the only brands with “permission” to be loud, fun, and weird?
Another difference is the "bottled water" comes not in plastic containers, but rather 16.9-ounce tallboy cans -- those usually reserved for beer or not so healthy energy drinks. The 10-month old company works with the Thirst Project and 5 Gyres to donate a nickel from every can sold to help remove plastic garbage from oceans and provide drinking water to dry and impoverished areas.
“As crazy as the name is, it just also made so much sense for what the product mission is: to kill your thirst and help bring death to plastic bottles,” Cessario told Marketing Daily in a recent interview.
The 100% natural, non-carbonated spring water from a private, underground source in Frankenmarkt, Austria is beginning to make its push into retail stores. It is readily available for direct sale on its web site as well as Amazon.
A former Netflix promotional creator behind such advertisement campaigns as “House of Cards,” “Narcos,” and “Stranger Things,” Cessario has made it a point to create a unique brand with the noble mission of ridding the world of unnecessary plastic use.
“Our mission is to make health and sustainability more fun and not take itself too seriously,” said Cessario.
Liquid Death raised $1.6 million in May bringing its total funding to $2.25 million. The wacky startup brand 's investors include Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Jen Rubio, co-founder of suitcase-making company Away.
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