Sixt and Liquid Death Make the Strangest Buddy Ad of the Year
TL;DR: German car-rental giant Sixt has teamed up with cult canned-water brand Liquid Death for a gleefully absurd US campaign, pairing rented cars with energy drinks in a spot designed to build Sixt's American presence through borrowed irreverence.
Two brands with nothing obvious in common can make the most memorable advertising of all — if the tone is right. Sixt and Liquid Death have just proved it.
The German rental firm, famous at home for its cheeky, reactive advertising, has partnered with America's irreverent water brand on a deliberately crazy US spot, showing that rented cars and canned water are a weirdly perfect match.
Borrowing each other's fans
Co-marketing works best when each brand brings something the other lacks. Liquid Death has cult cultural cachet with younger Americans; Sixt has a serious US expansion job to do. The partnership lends Sixt instant irreverence and relevance.
Sixt's brand has always run on humour and speed. Pairing with a brand built entirely on shock and comedy is less a stretch than it looks — the tonal fit is the glue that makes the odd couple work.
Why humour travels
Sixt is trying to win American attention in a crowded, functional category. Comedy is one of the few things that reliably cuts through, gets shared, and makes a rental brand memorable rather than interchangeable.
The risk with humour is that it entertains without selling. The best comedic ads, like this one, keep the brand and the product benefit inside the joke rather than bolted on afterwards.
The co-marketing lesson
Partnering with another brand is one of the most underused growth tactics for smaller firms. The right partner gives you access to an audience that already trusts them, at a fraction of the cost of buying that reach yourself.
The key is tonal and audience fit, not category logic. Find a brand your customers already love that is not a competitor, and the combination can make both of you more interesting.
Quick FAQ
Why did Sixt partner with Liquid Death?
To borrow Liquid Death's cult cultural relevance with younger Americans and build Sixt's US presence through a shared, irreverent sense of humour.
What can marketers learn from it?
Co-marketing with a non-competing brand your customers already love gives you trusted reach cheaply. Tonal and audience fit matters more than obvious category logic.
Rented cars and canned water have nothing in common - except a sense of humour and a young audience. That's exactly why it works. The best brand partnerships aren't about category logic; they're about borrowing the fans and the tone you don't yet have. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The best brand partnerships are built on shared tone and audience, not obvious category logic.
Which non-competing brand do your customers already love — and could a partnership introduce you to all of them at once?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Horizont, Ads of the World.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
