RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 3 sourcesThis may be a first for a major marketing campaign. A new spot for Liquid Death and Garage Beer enlists former Philadelphia Eagle and current podcaster and Taylor Swift brother-in-law Jason Kelce to promote the products with a sprinkle of AI resentment. Or should we say a tinkle of AI resentment—the commercial is centered around a “We Are The World” style song encouraging people to drink Liquid Death and Garage Beer so they may produce more pee that they can send to AI data centers.
“AI data centers waste millions of gallons of water,” says Kelce at the top of the spot. “We want your pee to cool these data centers.” He’s then joined by a whole spectrum of humanity—skaters, the elderly, a juggalo—carrying jars of their own piss, presumably to ship to the offices of Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and whoever else is encouraging building more data centers that make life a living nightmare for anyone unlucky enough to live near them. (Judging by the colors of these jars, there’s also a spectrum of hydration on display in this campaign.) The song features lyrics like “let’s pee on computers together.” Of course, the way the ad wants you to do that is by buying Liquid Death or Garage Beer, the brand owned by Kelce and his very famous brother Travis.
Of course, this is a pretty canny marketing move, and one that is a pretty clear symbol of just how unpopular these data centers have gotten. Earlier this year, Gallup found that seven out of ten Americans were opposed to data centers being built where they live, and several states have started passing legislation to ban the construction of new ones entirely . Passing legislation is probably more effective than mailing a jar of your pee to OpenAI, but advertising your beer brand by telling people to call their congressperson probably wouldn’t have been quite as attention-grabbing. Besides, everyone knows that wine is the drink of choice for calling your representatives.
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