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To be clear, Liquid Death is not suggesting that pregnant women go on benders. It just looks that way, purposely so, as the self-styled punk-rock water brand partners with Kylie Kelce for a campaign called “Kegs for Pregs.”
Kylie Kelce, whose popular new podcast rivals Joe Rogan’s show, is expecting her fourth daughter with husband-retired NFL player-frequent pitchman Jason Kelce. She bellies up to the bar, literally, in Liquid Death’s latest ad. She seems to be sloshed, though she’s actually just well-hydrated.
When a character in the video challenges her about drinking in her delicate condition, she gleefully doubles down. “I’ve had so many of these tonight,” she says as she hoists her pint glass in the air, slightly slurring her words. “I wish they would make a huge keg.”
Kelce not only wills the product into existence—it’s real, debuting in a limited run—she also presides over scenes so improbable they could only come from a brand as brazen as Liquid Death. In short, it’s a rager in which wall-to-wall pregnant women get sloppy while guzzling mountain water (one flashes her sonogram instead of an ID to get inside).
A catchy jingle serves as the soundtrack, with sample lyrics that include: “Kegs for pregs, you’re drinking for two, kegs for pregs, throw back a few.”
‘Fast-follow sequel’
Kelce’s ad is “a fast-follow sequel” to the brand’s first national Super Bowl spot, according to Andy Pearson, the brand’s vice president of creative. “Safe for Work,” which landed in the top 3 on EDO’s Engagement Index from Super Bowl 59, seemingly advocated drinking on the job, with cops, surgeons, bus drivers, and other professionals chugging Liquid Death while on the clock.
Both campaigns lean into the brand’s long-running tagline, “Don’t be scared, it’s just water,” and neither was a risk, despite their provocative visuals, Pearson said.
“The risk is always making boring work no one wants to see,” Pearson told ADWEEK. “The strategy here was pretty simple: what’s the fastest way to communicate that Liquid Death is a premium canned water? Have a pregnant woman chugging it with all her friends.”
