Latest / Brand Storytelling with Fexingo: Narrative, Mission, and Stories That Sell / How Liquid Death Turned Water Into a Rebellion
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this brand that sells canned water — just still, sparkling water in a tallboy — and it's worth, at last count, about seven hundred million dollars. And the name on the can? Liquid Death. Luna: Which is about as far from 'pure, refreshing spring water' as you can get. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the whole point. The founder, Mike Cessario, came from the ad world — he worked on big campaigns — and he noticed that every bottled water brand sold the same thing: purity, hydration, nature. And he thought, what if we sold the opposite? What if water felt dangerous? Luna: So he basically took the visual language of heavy metal and punk — skulls, gothic fonts, mosh pits — and slapped it on a can of water. Lucas: Right. And it worked. The brand launched in 2019, and by 2023 it was doing over a hundred million dollars in revenue. But here's the thing — and this is what makes it a fascinating brand story — they spent almost nothing on traditional advertising. No billboards, no TV spots. It's all organic social media, absurdist humor, and a very carefully crafted personality. Luna: Give me an example of that absurdist humor. Lucas: One of my favorites: they once sued a competitor — a fake competitor — called 'Liquid Death' that was actually a brand of, I think, protein powder? And they posted about the lawsuit on Instagram with this deadpan serious tone. Their followers ate it up. It's all performance art, basically. Luna: So the story isn't about the water. It's about the rebellion. Lucas: Exactly. Cessario said in an interview that they're not selling hydration, they're selling a personality. And they built that personality through a consistent visual and tonal language that feels like it belongs to a band, not a beverage company. They even have a 'death clock' on their website that counts down how many plastic bottles were saved by buying their cans. Luna: But is that just greenwashing? I mean, aluminum cans still have a carbon footprint. Lucas: It's a fair question. The company claims their cans are infinitely recyclable, and aluminum recycling is more efficient than plastic — but they're not pretending to save the world. The death clock is more of a storytelling device than a serious sustainability metric. It's part of the persona. Luna: Right, it's part of the show. And that's what makes it interesting from a marketing perspective — the brand is the content. Lucas: Exactly. And the content is relentless. They have a comedy series on YouTube called 'Death Drops' where they parody energy drink commercials. They've done a fake funeral for a can of water. They even once sold a 'severed hand' — a fake severed hand that holds your can — for thirty dollars or something. Luna: Okay, but does this work beyond the novelty? I mean, can you keep selling water as rebellion after the first few years? Lucas: That's the million-dollar question. And it's one they're actively answering. Last year they launched an iced tea line — same brand, same can, but now it's tea. And they partnered with Live Nation to be the official water of a bunch of concerts and festivals. So they're trying to expand the story without diluting the personality. Luna: And the iced tea — does it have the same edge? Or is it just water with a twist? Lucas: It's got the same visual identity, same tone. The cans say things like 'Murder Your Thirst' and 'Unleash the Beast.' So the personality is intact. But the product itself is just tea. The question is whether the audience will follow them beyond the core water product. Luna: I think that's the key tension in brand storytelling — how do you evolve without losing the essence? And Liquid Death's essence is very specific. Lucas: It is. And honestly, that's a challenge we think about a lot on this show. How do you keep a story fresh without breaking the character? And it's one reason listener support matters so much for a show like ours — we don't have to chase a trend or a sponsor's agenda. We can just follow the story where it goes. Luna: Yeah, and that's only possible because some of you out there have chosen to support us directly. If these conversations about brand storytelling have sparked something you've actually used — even just a new way of thinking about a brand you love — that's exactly why we keep doing it ad-free. Lucas: You can find a way to support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep this independent. Luna: And speaking of keeping it independent — Liquid Death is a perfect example of a brand that stayed true to a weird, independent vision and built a real community around it. So back to that expansion question: how do you think the iced tea launch is going? Lucas: Early reports suggest it's doing well. They're in a lot of convenience stores now, and the Live Nation partnership gives them physical presence at events. But the real test is whether the brand can become a permanent fixture, not just a viral moment. Luna: And that depends on whether the story stays compelling. Lucas: Exactly. Cessario has said they're building a lifestyle brand, not just a beverage. So maybe in five years they're selling Liquid Death merch — hats, shirts, maybe even a music festival. The brand is the platform. Luna: So the lesson for marketers might be: don't try to be everything to everyone. Pick a strong personality and live it fully, even if it seems ridiculous. Lucas: Yes. And also: don't be afraid to make people laugh. A lot of brand storytelling takes itself way too seriously. Liquid Death shows that humor and irreverence can build just as much loyalty as sincerity. Luna: And maybe more, if the audience feels like they're in on the joke. Lucas: Right. That's the secret sauce. The customer isn't a consumer — they're a co-conspirator. And that's a powerful narrative.