Liquid Death has had a bit of a “Jackass” vibe from the beginning, pushing the envelope with provocative stunts. The brand previously partnered with Steve-O, one of the O.G. “Jackass” stars who got a “water tattoo” in a video last year.
The underlying concept for the iced tea campaign—that tea is the original energy drink for grandmas, and could be promoted with the tropes of all extreme energy drinks—felt like a good project for Tremaine, who signed with Pulse Films at the end of last year for commercial representation.
In chatting early on about the idea, Steve-O put the brand in touch with Tony Gardner, a special effects, makeup and prosthetics wizard.
“He designed the original Chucky Doll, the Daft Punk helmets, and did work on Jackass and Bad Grandpa,” Liquid Death's VP of creative, Andy Pearson, told Ad Age. “Since we had him on board, we figured it made sense to reach out to Jeff Tremaine and get the band back together. We’re obviously huge fans of 'Jackass' and everything else Jeff does, so we were excited when we said he would join in, too.”