Jackass director Jeff Tremaine dials up Liquid Death iced tea’s ‘Grandma Energy’

In a new video spot, the beverage brand – known for turning marketing tropes on its ear – unveils its new lightly caffeinated iced tea products by playing on some of the classic cliches of energy drink marketing.

The ad opens with a typical energy drink bro (complete with V-neck, distorted jeans and PC Principal sunglasses) holding a can of Liquid Death Iced Tea with a mocking look on his face. “C’mon Liquid Death, this is like my grandma’s energy drink,” he says. At that point, he’s blasted head-to-toe with brown liquid, like a smoothie with too much peanut butter. The camera pans to two actors wearing grandma costumes, laughing like Minions and holding a tube that’s been lowered into a port a-potty. Cue gag reflex.

And cue the death metal. We see a four-piece band of grandmas wailing out a ballad that sounds like it came from the halls of Lucifer himself, complete with blood-curdling vocals and a face-melting guitar solo. Intermingled with the music video (which was filmed in what appears to be a smoky basement), are shots of the gang of miscreant grandmas being absolute menaces to polite society; whipping donuts in a Nissan Z, setting off a firework from a rooftop (the grandma holding the lit firework isn’t holding it with her hand), skating a handrail and fighting inside an Octagon.

The ad, titled ‘Grandma Energy,’ was directed by Jeff Tremaine, known for his work on the Jackass TV show and film franchise.

Liquid Death’s new line of iced teas only contains what the brand describes as “a microdose of caffeine”: 30 mg, along with “a small amount of agave.” Many big-name energy drink products, in contrast, contain hundreds of milligrams of caffeine and dozens of grams of sugar. The marketing for those latter products has historically tended to revolve around traditionally “extreme” and machismo themes, such as dirt bike racing, skateboarding and attractive young girls driving around and handing out free samples.

Recently, however, much of the mainstream energy drink sector has started to gravitate its marketing strategy in the direction of health and wellness, releasing sugar-free options and infusing their products with trendy supplements and nootropics like CBD and Lion’s Mane mushrooms. The use of the word “microdose” – a word which typically refers to a non-psychoactive dose of a mind-altering substance like LSD or psilocybin – in the new Liquid Death ad arguably reflects this broader industry trend towards self-care.

Liquid Death's new iced tea products are now available in three flavors, the names of which are classic Liquid Death: Armless Palmer, Grim Leafer and Rest In Peach.

The ad joins an array of notable marketing stunts including a nauseating taste test featuring “the most expensive beverages on Earth” (hint: not champagne) as well as tapping porn star Cherie DeVille as a spokesperson, touting the brand’s sustainability efforts.

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Credits

Co-founder/CEO: Mike Cessario

SVP of marketing: Dan Murphy

VP of creative: Andy Pearson

VP of marketing: Greg Fass

VP of design: Franke Dresmé

Creative director: Will Carsola

Executive producer: Johnny Eastlund

Senior producer: Tatianna Rodriguez

Senior campaign manager: Tia Sherwood

Director of program management: Lia Alberti

Associate creative director: Stu Golley

Editor: Tyler Beasley

Senior nihilist: Brendan Kelly

Production coordinator: Emily Draznik

Production manager: Cookie Walukas

Director: Jeff Tremaine

Director of photography: Wyatt Troll

Executive producer: Shanna Zablow

Camera operator: Dimitri Elyashkevich

Camera operator: Jackson Montemayor

Prosthetics: Alterian

Prosthetics lead: Tony Gardner

Production company: Gorilla Flicks