Liquid Death takes aim at prebiotic sodas with some toilet humor

Liquid Death has taken the old-timey Pepsi Challenge taste test concept to some pretty strange places for its flavored sparkling waters. 

Back in 2022, it pitted its $1.99 cans of Liquid Death against tallboys of luxury liquids like lobster béarnaise sauce ($50), liquified Japanese wagyu cheeseburger ($51), Spanish squid ink ($58), and beluga caviar ($580). Cue the dry heaves. And in 2023, it responded to a tweet that said, “I’d rather lick sweat off a fat guy’s back than drink Liquid Death,” with a spot entitled—you guessed it —“Better Than Back Sweat?”

Now the brand is taking aim at prebiotic sodas like Olipop with a new taste test ad called “Toilet Taste Test.” 

Here we have several brave members of the public coming to test the chuggability of a Liquid Death flavored sparkling water against a mug of unnamed prebiotic soda. Each subject tastes the Liquid Death first, then is asked to try the prebiotic soda while sitting on the toilet since it claims the prebiotic soda contains six times the fiber in a fiber-based laxative. 

Subject responses are . . . revealing. “Not quite prairie-dogging but feeling some motion.” “Number 2 might make me number two.”

Watch the (soda) throne

The prebiotic soda market has been forecasted to hit $3.5 billion by 2032. In February, Coca-Cola launched Simply Pop, and a month later PepsiCo acquired Poppi for $1.95 billion. Popular brand Olipop (which contains 6 g of fiber per can) was valued at $1.85 billion in February, after raising $50 million in its latest funding round.

Liquid Death was valued at $1.4 billion, following its latest funding round last March. According to the company, 2024 retail sales were $333 million, up from $263 million in 2023.

While it’s not the most obvious competitor to the heavy metal and comedy-infused canned water brand, Liquid Death has always positioned itself as a healthy alternative to traditional sugar-filled soda. “The Toilet Taste Test” is a clear indication of what brands it deems a threat to its own growth trajectory. By taking aim at the taste and consequences of fiber, the brand not only found the funny, but also took a direct hit on what many see as prebiotic soda’s Achilles heel. 

It’s also a perfect example of the brand’s consistently funny take on advertising. At the Fast Company Grill at SXSW in March, Liquid Death’s senior VP of marketing Dan Murphy told me the goal for all of its content was to make sure it “doesn’t smell like an ad” and creates engagement with consumers and the media. “The metrics you should look for are saves and shares,” Murphy said. “If somebody’s going to go back and watch that again, if somebody’s sharing that with a friend, there’s that viral coefficient that is telling you you’re doing it right.”