If you have seen any sort of TikTok feed recently, you may have seen countless adverts for a sparkling water brand called Liquid Death.

Personally I quite like it, and have been drinking the "Severed Lime" version since around 2020 when it first really hit retailers.

But why am I talking about this with you this week?

Well, news arrived last week that the brand is being pulled out of the UK after six years - with the company citing that they just couldn't make it work and generate sufficient sales and brand acceptance to continue.

So let's try and establish why shall we?

If you have never seen, or heard of this, it looks like this below...

Now when you see this, what do you actually think?

It screams difference.

It shouts risk.

It looks like an energy drink (or a can of Kestrel Lager as a client said to me on a Zoom call last wee!k!).

And that is why I think it has struggled...

Imagine going into a supermarket wanting an energy drink and picking it up as it looks like countless other ones. You pay for it, having not read the label, crack open the can, take the first swig, and...

Eurgh! This isn't an energy drink - it's water!!

Now imagine another customer looking for sparkling water in the same area of the supermarket. Seeing this can quite clearly makes it not look like water - so the customer walks on by....

In my opinion this is where being clever on paper, or in boardrooms has caused the downfall of a brand in real life.

And that is probably why it is all over TikTok being sold at a huge discount!

Sometimes the simple processes deliver the greatest response.

So don't try and be clever with your brand.

It's not funny...

And it's not clever..

Speak soon!

James