Essentially the most well-known useless individual to ever put on sun shades simply may be Bernie Lomax. Till now. As a result of the namesake for the 1989 hit comedy Weekend at Bernie’s was a fictional character, however you expensive reader, you’re very actual.
Liquid Dying simply introduced its latest collab, this time with sun shades model Pit Viper, to make what its calling “Sun shades for Useless Individuals.” In line with Liquid Dying, 87% of people that have near-death experiences report seeing a blinding shiny gentle. That’s not an actual science, however the canned water model isn’t letting that get in the way in which of a very good bit.
Available on Pit Viper’s site for $119, the limited-edition shades characteristic shatterproof, sturdy lenses with 100% UVA/UVB safety, and each pair comes with what the model calls a 100% after-lifetime assure: if the sun shades break or fail to guard your eyes from the sunshine that (allegedly) awaits us all, Pit Viper will exchange them, no questions requested.
The shades, which may or may not make you look like a cool outfielder, are simply the newest mortality-themed undertaking from Liquid Dying that’s pitched as a product for the afterlife. In February, the brand dropped a $495 urn with Spotify that featured an inner Bluetooth speaker to be able to play your ashes an “everlasting playlist.”
Each ridiculous merchandise completely embody Liquid Dying’s total model collaboration technique, that above all, values comedy you possibly can contact and really feel. At the Fast Company Grill at SXSW in March, Liquid Dying’s vice-president of artistic Andy Pearson informed me, “It’s not humorous to say, ‘Hey, what if we made one thing.’ It’s humorous to make the factor,” mentioned Pearson. “It’s humorous to make adult diapers that are made of pleather so you don’t have to go to the bathroom at a concert, or a Bluetooth-enabled urn so you possibly can play music into your ashes eternally. It solely turns into actually humorous when it truly exists on this planet. So we’ve put lots of inventory into making actual issues.”
The model’s entertainment-driven, social media-focused method has been credited for its sturdy attraction amongst younger shoppers, amassing greater than 14.5 million followers throughout TikTok and Instagram. In 2024, new funding valued Liquid Death at $1.4 billion, and final yr the model expanded into iced tea and power drink classes.
Lethal collab technique
Once I spoke to Liquid Dying’s vice-president of marketing Dan Murphy concerning the Spotify urn, he outlined three key pillars of the model’s total collab technique.
First is the Liquid Dying Universe Filter. On the core of each collaboration is an easy artistic query: “In case you take one other model or celeb into the Liquid Dying universe, what’s the one proper reply?,” mentioned Murphy.
Second is mutual enterprise worth, the place collaborating with different manufacturers gives particular enterprise benefits that working with particular person celebrities doesn’t. “We discover lots of manufacturers which might be concerned about our distinctive viewers worth our creativity,” he says. “We do the whole lot in home—movie, produce, direct—so we’re seen as a little bit of an company and manufacturing firm. Companions see that worth, after which we’ll discover manufacturers that may cowl some manufacturing arduous prices and permit us to increase our advertising finances, bringing what they do greatest to the desk.”
And the third pillar is high quality and amount. Going again to what Pearson mentioned about actually making the factor is what makes it humorous, making one thing of high quality simply makes the joke even higher. When it comes to amount, restricted runs have been profitable in driving demand and consciousness, with every collab typically having between 200 and 500 items accessible. “We wish to do sufficient that individuals can have them, but in addition notice a few of these very particular issues have turn into extra collectible when it’s not a mass product,” mentioned Murphy. “Many issues that we do, they promote out in lower than a day, and also you see them on eBay instantly.”
Whereas all the time amusing, these collabs serve to deliver Liquid Dying to a broader viewers, whether or not it’s Pit Viper shades, Spotify, or e.l.f. magnificence. In alternate for Liquid Dying’s artistic muscle, collaborating manufacturers sometimes put money into the manufacturing prices and media spend behind it.
With Spotify, for instance, it customized programmed the Everlasting Urn playlist on its platform, tapping into customers’ Spotify historical past and likes. That not solely customizes it for every person, however get Liquid Dying on Spotify in a approach it by no means may by itself.
First we get an urn, now a pair of shades, what could possibly be subsequent for Liquid Dying’s deceased demographic? Possibly collab with Ring on a coffin cam, or Scott’s Miracle-Gro on composting yourself, or possibly Hugo Boss “Final Swimsuit You’ll Ever Put on.” The probabilities might by no means die.
