Arizona (Neb.): Liquid Death courts small town in effort to gain ground on popular tea brand

Jul 02, 2025

ARIZONA, Neb. (WOWT) - A popular beverage company found themselves struggling with brand association against a long-standing canned iced tea staple turned to a small Nebraska town for help toppling its Goliath.

Liquid Death makes and sells a variety of canned sodas and waters — some flavored, some still. The brand clearly has an edge, calling its version of a drink mixing tea and lemonade — most commonly known as an “Arnold Palmer” — the “Dead Billionaire.”

So it’s not a huge suprise that Liquid Death’s latest advertising campaign, launched Tuesday for its canned iced tea, takes bold square aim at its main competitor: Arizona.

“Even though Liquid Death is the #1 iced tea on Amazon, people still think of Arizona when they think of canned iced tea. So it became clear that to spread the word to the masses that Liquid Death makes low-calorie iced tea, the brand had to become the Official Iced of Arizona,” Tuesday’s news release states.

In its new ad, the company travels to Burt County, Neb., to talk with residents of the Township of Arizona, population 278, and convince them to try — and ultimately endorse — its brand of canned iced tea.

The residents obliged, or rather the the town leaders, giving credence to the ad’s very direct statement that “Liquid Death is now the official iced tea of Arizona (Neb.).” Even Burt County got excited about it, sharing the ad on its Burt County Tourism Facebook page.

It’s official! Liquid Death is the official ice tea of Arizona Township in Burt County Nebraska!

But it wasn’t just a “canned” process that made the ad campaign come together.

“Becoming the Official Iced Tea of Arizona involved actual government processes, including an official vote by the local board of supervisors to approve the designation,” Liquid Death spokesperson Jake Tredo told First Alert 6. “That process is the backdrop for a new short documentary-style video from Liquid Death.”

The folks at Liquid Death seemed most appreciative of the connection, making a point to mention the “self-proclaimed mayor of Arizona and touring his chainsaw collection,” who is featured in the video, and an innocent trip to the courthouse jail.

Tredo said the endorsement culminated in a “town-wide celebration” complete with complimentary iced tea, of course, and signage handouts.

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