Kylie Kelce Bellies Up to the Bar in Liquid Death’s Provocative Ad

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.”

The new work, from Liquid Death’s in-house creative and marketing team, also harkens back to 2022’s “Breaking the Law” that featured a bunch of hard-partying 8-year-olds who look and act drunk (but definitely are not).

Neither is Kelce in the new ad’s final scene, though she says to a cop who has pulled her over on the road, “Why yes, officer, I have been drinking tonight.”

Early sponsor for Not Gonna Lie

Liquid Death has an existing relationship with Kelce as the exclusive March sponsor of Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce. The podcast premiered in December and quickly became a hit, routinely besting The Joe Rogan Experience on Spotify.

“It just so happened that we could time our sponsorship to a month when we knew she would be about 8 months pregnant,” Pearson said.

The ad, shot recently in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, gives the brand a strong tie to women, with Kelce emerging as a down-to-earth everymom with a sizable female following. 

But Pearson noted that the growing product line skews 50-50 in its male-female fandom, despite its origins in testosterone-fueled extreme sports and its aggressive skull-heavy package design, meant to position the brand against beer and energy drinks.

“Kylie is the perfect ambassador for us because she has the same hilarious, no BS attitude we do,” Pearson said. “Humor is universal so we always follow that wherever it takes us.”

The stunt deepens the brand’s connection with Philadelphia and its famous sports dynasty (Jason Kelce spent his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles). Liquid Death recently inked a multi-year deal with the Super Bowl-winning Eagles to become the Official Iced Tea Partner, with the drink added to concessions at the team’s home stadium, Lincoln Financial Field.

And about that “baby” keg: there will be only “a few hundred” of the 5-liter products available, selling for $20 on the brand’s website.