Forget Barbie. Liquid Death Made a Steve-O Voodoo Doll!
Steve-O's no stranger to pain. But voodoo-powered agony's something else entirely. And that's what the Jackass star might experience (though probably not) in the latest freaky promo from Liquid Death.
The canned water brand stuffed strands of Steve's hair into 300 voodoo dolls. Doing so supposedly ensures he'll feel every pin prick, punch and burn buyers impose on the figures.
This ranks as one of Liquid Death's more playful outings of late, emphasizing edginess to maximize buzz. While tame by the brand's standards, it continues LD's quest to stress entertainment over marketing and dabble in the supernatural (or at least dark themes) whenever possible.
"We're not aiming for any consistency with what we're doing other than the fact it's always coming from some sort of satirical place," brand VP of creative Andy Pearson tells Muse. "The inconsistency is part of what makes playing along with us so much fun—and working on it so much fun, too."
Just this year, LD's efforts—some NSFW—have run the gamut from super-fun/slightly unnerving (an '80s dance album with hateful lyrics) and Monty Pythonesque (wild grannies) to various shades of yuck (involving plastic surgery, enemas and back sweat).
"If you're looking for ick in this one, owning a tiny pouch of Steve-O's actual hair is both pretty cool and pretty gross," Pearson says.
Either way, the dolls are $125 apiece and sure to sell out fast. They come in pink packaging. A sly reference to Barbie, perhaps?
"I haven't had a chance to see it yet," Pearson says of the tie-in mega-blockbuster movie. "But I have scrolled past all the marketing think-pieces about it on LinkedIn."
As for his team's inspirations, "A lot of us were raised on Mad Magazine and SNL and The Onion and Adult Swim and obviously Jackass," he says. "But comedy has become such a wonderful, dark space lately. I just finished watching Season 3 of Dave last night, and it's so great. Same with Atlanta. They're combining occasional slapstick and wacky humor with incredibly deep subject matter. It always keeps you off-kilter, which keeps you coming back. That's what I love about this brand, too."
