I spent my whole career in advertising watching brands spend millions to be 5% funnier than their competitor. I thought, what if we just made the funniest brand in the world and put water in it?
Our first ad got 3 million views on Facebook before we had a single can of water to sell. That told us everything we needed to know. The brand was the product.
We named our flavors Severed Lime and Mango Chainsaw because if you're going to sell flavored water, you might as well have fun with it. Every other brand in the category takes itself way too seriously.
People said you can't build a billion-dollar brand on comedy. Turns out you absolutely can if the comedy is consistent, the product is real, and you never break character.
The tallboy can is the whole strategy. It looks like a beer. You can hold it at a party and nobody asks why you're not drinking. We made water socially acceptable for people who think water is lame.
We spend a fraction of what Coke spends on marketing and get more engagement per dollar because our content is actually entertaining. Nobody shares a Dasani ad. People share our stuff because it makes them laugh.