Monster's Water Marketing Discovery

Mike Cessario shares how he discovered an insight about water marketing while at Warped Tour that eventually inspired Liquid Death.

"I was in Denver working for an agency and went to Warped Tour with my friends who took me backstage. I saw huge stacks of Monster that all these bands were drinking. I asked them 'How are you guys pounding energy drinks right now in the hot sun? It's 98 degrees.'

They said 'No dude, it's water.' Monster gives all the bands cans that look like Monster but at the bottom it says 'tour water' because they know none of these bands are going to drink energy drinks in the sun. So bands on stage are pounding what looked like energy drinks to all these kids, but it's really just water.

I remember thinking that's so messed up. That was the moment where it started me down the path of wondering why isn't water marketed in a cool way like this. When you actually had a freezing cold can of water, it's just more refreshing psychologically.

None of my friends hanging out wanted to actually drink energy drinks - we just wanted to drink water or beer. But if you're a band, you've got to make money touring, so of course you take the checks from these companies. That's where I think the idea really started."