The Anatomy of [UN]Boring:
A Liquid Death Case Study

The biggest threat to your brand isn't a competitor; it's the status quo. Mediocrity. Mention that a brand is "boring," and the room goes cold. Today's customer is more informed, has infinite options, and has a built-in "ad-blocker" for anything that feels like a traditional commercial. Being 'good' is the same as being invisible. To survive, you have to be [UN]BORING.

There are some brands that have nailed this concept. Not only catching their target customer's attention but maintaining that interest. In our first blog series we are going to examine brands that know how to be [UN]BORING.

Case Study

Liquid Death

What can possibly be more status quo than water? Yet Liquid Death has positioned itself as an energetic, edgy brand that has captured serious market attention. While their competitors focus on purity, sourcing, and the scientific properties of water (booooring), Liquid Death has flipped the script and challenges customers to "Murder Your Thirst." Since their launch in 2019, their aggressive graphics, gothic fonts, war on plastic bottles, and edgy attitude is a far cry from the 'eco' look and feel of their competitors. They have successfully taken a commodity and made it an innovative, exciting, and buzzworthy brand.

Liquid Death made several bold moves that set them apart from the field. From the use of aluminum tall boy cans to their Collect Skulls customer rewards program they have cultivated a counter-culture of rebellious water. Consistent messaging and killer design have allowed Liquid Death to step outside the water market and into music streaming, cosmetics and merch. For a brand that is less than ten years old it has landed partnerships with big name brands like Martha Stewart, Spotify, YETI, SHEETZ, Call of Duty, and e.l.f. Cosmetics.

Their limited release, Eternal Playlist Urn speaker branded with Spotify goes for $495. Not bad for a brand that is as simple as water. After their highly successful 2024 partnership, e.l.f. and Liquid Death have yet again teamed up. Their 2026 launch of e.l.f. x Liquid Death Lip Embalms is an epic move. Can you imagine an Aquafina lip balm? No, but a trendy lip balm in packaging that mirrors your favorite Liquid Death flavor that staves off the evils of chapped lips is a different story. How do they do it? Andy Pearson, VP of Creative gives some insight.

"...we get to go into somewhere where we wouldn't normally be and inject our form of Liquid Death chaos into whatever corner of pop culture where the brand or celebrity exists. Both of us are getting different things out of it. The collaborations provide a great new space to bring in satire and parody, reach people and bring some humor to a category that we don't actively participate in."

— Andy Pearson, VP of Creative, Liquid Death

The Moving Billboard

They don't stop at big brand collabs. No, they have developed another healthy revenue stream in the form of branded merch. In 2021, "Liquid Death brought in nearly $45 million in sales…, and $3 million of that came from merchandise." Many times brands use merch as freebies to help get the word out about their business. Liquid Death uses limited drops, a diverse range of quality apparel options, drinkware, and more. Now, they have hundreds of thousands of walking billboards showcasing their design — and people paid for the privilege.

There are more examples of how Liquid Death has created their cult following and became a domestic marketing masterclass. But like most shooting stars there are naysayers and challenges. Mark Ritson from MarketingWeek stated:

"No one talks about Liquid Death's product. And that's entirely the reason why the brand has become so prevalent across (marketing) PowerPoint decks. It's all about the ads. The attitude. The social. The events. And nothing else. That makes Liquid Death the perfect pin-up brand for a generation of marketers who define marketing as advertising and who spend their careers ignoring the remaining 90% of our discipline's hinterland."

— Mark Ritson, MarketingWeek

The Limits of Loud: The 2025 UK Exit

And while the wins for Liquid Death have been monumental there have been a few bumps in the road. For instance, in 2025 they withdrew from the UK market due to lagging sales. While data shows UK consumers 'liked' the marketing many found the over the top messaging too cringe. Being priced at almost double than their existing UK brands swaying customers to try something new was a hard sell. In the UK, tap water is a point of pride. The failure of the brand in the UK proves that what works in one area of the world doesn't always resonate with a global audience.

The Final Word

Is being [UN]BORING enough? Of course not but it doesn't hurt! Setting your brand apart from the field, being innovative in product development and marketing go hand-in-hand. So is Liquid Death here to stay or will their meteoric rise end in a Deathberry Inferno? That is for time to tell but as for now they are certainly not showing signs of needing a Cherry Obituary.