Creative Advertising

Liquid Death Superfan Survives Skydiving Crash and Gets...A Lousy T-Shirt

The brand makes a mini-doc chronicling a Utah man's dramatic fall and launches merchandise to raise money for his recovery

Austin Measles sits in a wheelchair with bandages on his neck and nose, a tube coming out of his nostril and wearing sunglasses. Over this image is text that reads, Hard to Kill: The Austin Measles Story. — "Hard to Kill," a departure from outrageous brand stunts, is more in line with the recent heartfelt campaign, "Not a Waterboy."Liquid Death

By T.L. Stanley

Inspiration meets innovation at Brandweek, the ultimate marketing experience. Join industry luminaries, rising talent and strategic experts in Phoenix, Arizona this September 23–26 to assess challenges, develop solutions and create new pathways for growth. Register early to save.

Utah resident Austin Measles jumped from a plane, crash landed at 70 mph, broke 52 bones, nearly died…and all he got was this lousy t-shirt.

That’s the top-line description, Liquid Death style, of an incredible survival story at the center of the brand’s new documentary film, “Hard to Kill.”

The video, which clocks in at just over four minutes, chronicles the tragic skydiving accident that happened in May and Measles’ first words after waking up from a coma: As a self-professed Liquid Death superfan, he name-checked the canned water brand with the punk rock attitude.

Co-founder and CEO Mike Cessario uses an untraditional tone for the canned-water company's mission towards recycling.

How Liquid Death Leans on Youth Culture for Sustainability Messaging

By doing so, Measles inadvertently created the design for the merchandise via a scrawled message to his ICU caretakers.

“I’m

T.L. Stanley

T.L. Stanley is a senior editor at Adweek, where she specializes in consumer trends, cannabis marketing, plant-based food products, pop culture and creativity.

Recommended articles