Liquid Death transcends water by hijacking our lizard brains

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/03/23/liquid-death-transcends-water-by-hijacking-our-lizard-brains.html

4 Likes

Making clean, safe, drinkable water ubiquitous in virtually all modern cities and freely available through public drinking fountains was one of the greatest social advancements in the last couple of centuries.

It still amazes me that so many of us have been duped into wasting so much money and resources on single-use water bottles and cans to consume something we were able to get for free. Liquid Death is just the latest player in a really dumb, wasteful game.

42 Likes

There is some coffee with skull and bones, maybe a gun on the label. All I know is that it’s about $10 more a pound than the locally roasted brand I buy and it’s already a few dollars more than Pete’s.

6 Likes

This doesn’t really seem fair. I don’t think lizards usually buy water based on marketing.

29 Likes

Liquid death annoys me because their cans looks so similar to my local brewery, as mentioned the last time this topic came up

Also

Curse you for the ear worm.

15 Likes

I’ve never even heard of this stuff.

9 Likes

a lizard seriously considering which canned water to buy Midjourney

13 Likes

This reminds me of Screaming Yellow Zonkers. My mother used to buy them back in the late sixties and early seventies. They were all about their packaging too.

6 Likes

They do also make flavored versions (which isn’t much of a defense, as I tried a couple of them when offered and they’re awful). Also, I can understand buying water on rare occasions for the sake of convenience. I can’t remember the last time I saw a public drinking fountain and not everyone is able to lug around a water bottle all day or stop at a restaurant. If anything, I commend them for choosing the healthiest option in those situations. But rare occasions aside, it’s indeed a depressingly wasteful, stupid trend society has fallen into, both financially and environmentally.

11 Likes

Should I be drinking this stuff in a Stanley whatsit?

27 Likes

I saw some of these in our local Co-op a few months back.

Thought it was maybe an interesting new brewery.
When I picked up and studied the can, well, imagine both my disappointment and instant recoil.

The can remains on the shelf.
I believe it is there still.

ETA: I never checked for a Best Before date…

15 Likes

I must not have a normal reaction to marketing, as mostly I see it and think, “This stuff actually works on people?” Liquid Death as a product has always been utterly baffling to me.

13 Likes

That’s largely a circular problem though. Municipalities stopped investing as much in drinking fountains after the public was convinced to start buying bottled water every time they get thirsty.

Drinking fountains used to be such an integral part of public life that they still remain one of the most enduring symbols of segregation during the civil rights movement.

15 Likes

I’ve heard at least one recovering alcoholic (not sure if “recovering” is the right term? maybe “sober” alcoholic?) talk about how they really appreciated having a cool-looking can to sip from at concerts and parties where everybody else has an alcoholic beverage. And anything that helps people who suffer from addiction to better manage that disease seems pretty cool to me, really. Not that I’d ever choose to buy it (although was once forced to buy it at a concert where you couldn’t bring your own water and it was the only water available).

26 Likes

I drink cans of seltzer water in the evening when I am trying to cut down on beer. Just the act of popping the can and drinking seems to satisfy my muscle memory.

26 Likes

I think @Brainspore nailed it saying that clean safe water should be freely available. If you are going to have a government, that should really be the goverments #1 job.

And water as a product has always been about marketing an image rather than the actual product so there’s nothing new there at all.

However, the aluminium can intrigues me. I recall seeing an article (probably here on BB) about Budweiser providing aluminium cans of water for one of the recent humanitarian disasters and I thought it was great. Is it safer than a plastic bottle (cos plastic water bottles have a dubious history)? Does it have a longer shelf life than plastic? Is it lower cost than plastic?

Canned water isn’t available here, but if it was I would be enthusiastic to try it. marketing be damned.

9 Likes

Indeed.

11 Likes

Death Wish. I seem to recall their early marketing revolved around it having higher amounts of caffeine than other brands. Didn’t pay attention, I’m not 20 anymore and I need less caffeine these days, not more.

5 Likes

I’d be tempted in a pinch over plastic-bottled water, since I’ve heard that has a lot of microplastics in it. But then, do cans have plastic liners inside them now? :thinking:

9 Likes

I can’t answer your question, but did ya know aluminum/aluminium cans are lined with epoxy plastic which protects the metal can from the liquid and vice versa. Choose your plastic for packaged drinks.

I’ve noticed some of the microbreweries use a labelling technology that puts a shrinkwrap type of label on the cans. More plastic.

ETA

Good thing I chose a Coke video!

12 Likes