AdMiration feature: Liquid Death’s “Kegs for Pregs”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Liquid Death’s “Kegs for Pregs” ad, which promotes the brand’s limited edition kegs and stars media personality and podcaster Kylie Kelce. 

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to a pregnant Kylie Kelce chugging a Liquid Death can at a bar, as a woman starts sternly calling her name in the background. The scene pans to the woman sitting behind her, who, in outrage, asks her if she’s been drinking. Kylie replies, “I’ve had SO many of these today…I wish they’d make a huge keg.” 

As soon as the phrase leaves her mouth, a keg of Liquid Death sails down the bartop as the tune “Kegs for Pregs” begins to play, which includes lyrics like: “Kegs for pregs, you’re drinking for two, kegs for pregs, throw back a few.” 

This is followed by a montage of clips of pregnant women overtaking the bar in celebration, all drinking Liquid Death and raising the kegs in the air. This includes scenes of the bouncer checking their ultrasound photos at the door instead of IDs, bouncing pregnant bellies and even an older man with a beer belly joining in the fun. 

The song comes to a halt when water is noticed on the floor and one woman asks, “Oh my god, your water just broke!” When another woman steps in and says, “Whoopsies!” and packs up her tipped over can of Liquid Death. The tune resumes and so does the party, as Kylie orders another round and voices over, “So next time you’re pregnant, reach for an ice cold Liquid Death Mountain water, or get a limited edition personal keg.” 

The scene shifts to Kylie being pulled over by a police officer, keg in hand, saying, “Why yes officer, I have been drinking, for two!” 

The ad closes with a shot of Liquid Death’s limited edition keg and can in front of the mountains and the phrase: Real mountain source. Ice cold cans and kegs.  

3 facts

• The ad resonated very well with consumers, scoring in the top 10% of US ads in potential to drive sales (Sales Impact: 93) and in line with the average in potential to drive long-term brand equity (Brand Impact: 66). The ad scores even higher for adults under 36 (Sales Impact: 97, Brand Impact: 83).

• This spot was also highly distinctive, with an ad distinctiveness score of 4.4 vs. the 3.8 norm and a brand distinctiveness score of 4.0 vs. the 3.7 norm, underscoring how the ad helps set Liquid Death apart from other bottled or canned water brands. 

• The ad had a significant effect on viewers’ purchase intent, receiving a 31% score for purchase uplift (compared to a 19% norm) — really boosting its very low pre-purchase consideration.

2 learnings

• The combination of humor and surprise can be a great collaboration, especially when it plays into the brand's character. Laughter is the dominant emotion in this spot (26% vs. 8% norm) but Surprise comes into play as well (7% vs. 3% norm) when Kylie Kelce is seen “drinking” at the bar — quickly shifting to laughter as the tune starts to play and viewers realize it’s water.  

• Music specifically created for an ad can be hugely impactful. In this case, the music makes the ad distinctive, is amusing and helps convey the brand's message. But not only that, you cannot forget it! It's like an ear worm that stays with you long after listening (keeping the brand and ad there too!).

1 reflection

As a challenger brand, does your distinctiveness flow through everything you do? Can it be found in your product and your communications so you show up consistently and really benefit from what makes you unique? Liquid Death is the ultimate example of this. With this ad, the brand shows up exactly as you'd expect: Highly distinctive (spontaneously, 12% people even mention its distinctiveness as a key source of likes), humorous (19% talk about humor as key source of likes) and very emotionally engaging.

Is it for everyone? No. Some people dislike it (7% versus a norm of 3%) and many take issue with pregnant people partying in a bar, bumping bellies and the mere dare to put a pregnant person next to the idea of alcohol (even though it's water!). It's not for everyone, but overall, it's disruptive, memorable and certainly boosts people's knowledge and propensity to try Liquid Death.

Liquid Death’s “Kegs for Pregs” campaign was created by the brand’s own in-house creative and marketing team. The brand partnered with Kylie Kelce, media personality and host of the trending “Not Gonna Lie,” for this spot. This timely partnership comes after Kelce announced her fourth pregnancy, for this spot targeted towards pregnant women.

The ad is a fast-follow sequel to the brand’s first national Super Bowl spot, “Safe for Work,” which shows multiple people at work (like pilots, cops and surgeons) “drinking on the job.” 

But underneath the initial “shock factor” of all the partying, the spot actually intends to promote healthy actions, particularly among pregnant women, who do need to drink “for two.”

As written on their website, where the kegs are still sold out (which happened within the first 14 minutes they were available!), the brand states, “Pregnant women need to drink a lot of water. That’s why we partnered with Kylie Kelce, who’s expecting her fourth child, to give birth to our first-ever Liquid Death Mini Kegs. Drink up, pregs!” 

Andy Pearson, Vice President of Creative at Liquid Death, shares, ”The risk is always making boring work no one wants to see. 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.”

He adds that the ad gives the brand a strong tie to women, with Kelce “emerging as a down-to-earth everymom with a sizable female following.”

Liquid Death’s “Kegs for Pregs” ad resonated well with consumers, scoring in the top 10% of all US ads for ability to drive sales and in line with the average for brand equity in the long term (Sales Impact: 93, Brand Impact: 66).

This was particularly true for adults under 36, who rated the spot even higher in these areas (Sales Impact: 97, Brand Impact: 83). 

The ad was also seen as highly distinctive, receiving an ad distinctiveness score of 4.4 vs. the 3.8 norm and a brand distinctiveness score of 4.0 vs. the 3.7 norm. These high scores showcase how well the ad helps to set Liquid Death apart from other bottled or canned water brands. 

When it comes to purchase uplift and intent, this spot was off the charts! Consumers found it to be highly influential, landing at 31% for purchase uplift (compared to a 19% norm). Before watching the ad, only 7% of consumers considered choosing Liquid Death over other water brands, while after seeing the ad, this leapt to 38%, really pushing the brand into memory and consideration.

Unsurprisingly, as an ad showcasing pregnant women “drinking,” it did leave room for some polarizing reactions, resulting in a strong emotional intensity score (19 vs. 16 norm). Laughter was still the dominant emotion (26% vs. 8% norm), but viewers also felt some surprise (7% vs. 3% norm) and dislike (7% vs. 3% norm) while watching the ad. 

Being a more rebellious brand, the polarizing reactions were actually a good fit for the brand and not entirely unexpected. 

There were multiple peaks of laughter throughout the ad, especially when the keg is first introduced and the song starts, when the older man’s stomach is shown, when the woman’s water breaking is revealed to be spilled Liquid Death water and when she announces to the police officer that she’s been drinking for two. It’s a great execution of a fantastic idea, keeping people engaged and laughing from start to finish with these key moments.

While Dislike is consistent throughout the ad, so is Love, which starts immediately when Kylie is introduced (who had a strong celebrity appeal score of 3.8 vs. 3.4 norm) and continues throughout, reaching its highest point while the women are dancing with the water after the keg is introduced. 

Another significant emotion, Surprise, reaches its highest points when Kylie is shown drinking in the bar at the beginning and when she says “I’ve had so many of these today,” and continues through the ad particularly during the water breaking joke.

Here’s what some people liked about the ad:

• "I liked the play on a pregnant woman drinking but it ended up being water. I like that it shows that Liquid Death is good for you and hydrating because pregnant women are drinking it."

• "I loved the humor and cleverness of the pregnant women and drinking a lot of liquid death and the availability of the limited edition keg. Really gets your attention."

• "It was completely enjoyable with the pregnant women having fun in a bar setting but still drinking liquid death. The new keg size was a cute idea."

• "I liked the twist in the beginning with the branded keg. The viking type voice in the background singing kegs for pregs is pretty memorable."

• "The water on the floor making you think that one of the ladies' water broke and getting pulled over by the cop."

• "I like that the ad is showing that liquid death water is creating a way to help pregnant women have fun."

• "I like that it was comical, and not taking itself seriously. The playful tone was very endearing."

Here’s what some people disliked about the ad:

• "Dislike the whole concept of pregnant women being used and how they are just jumping up and down and pumping into each other's belly, found that very unlikely to happen especially with a baby inside them. Concept was just wrong."

• "The image of a pregnant woman bumping bellies with other pregnant women is disturbing. Trying to encourage pregnant women to be around people in a bar is disturbing."

• "A group of pregnant women assumed to be drinking alcohol when it was actually an ad for liquid death water."

While it was slightly polarizing, this spot was a hilarious hit for Liquid Death that highly influenced viewers’ purchase intent! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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