The One Show
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Category
Use of Humor
Annual ID
OS25_SM089M
Background
YETI is a company known for their high-quality coolers that keep items cold for days on end, without the use of refrigeration or electricity.
For the last decade, the brand has found success in targeting older, more rural demographics, with the majority of its advertising efforts aimed at outdoor enthusiasts who would benefit from a portable, durable, and dependable cooler during their excursions into the wild.
While this advertising strategy was effective, the brand was finding that its growth was hitting a plateau and was in need of a creative solution that would expand the company's reach.
Instead of catering to the same audience as before, the marketing team aimed their sights on a different population of potential consumers: the younger generations who partake in social gatherings like outdoor picnics and parties, and appreciate high-quality goods.
The challenge then was to grab this youthful audience's attention in a digital world that's already saturated with brand messaging, and position YETI in their minds as the premium cooler brand that keeps things cold for an absurdly long time.
Meanwhile, since its conception, Liquid Death was finding significant success in the teenage to young adult consumer arenas, standing out for their signature dark humor and attention-grabbing advertising. Much of their success could be attributed to the large social following they’ve built for themselves by creating an outlandish universe wherein everything that enters turns to death and destruction.
They’ve expanded this comedic universe into many markets, but had yet to tap that of outdoor and recreation, which they knew would be a fruitful area to play.
For the last decade, the brand has found success in targeting older, more rural demographics, with the majority of its advertising efforts aimed at outdoor enthusiasts who would benefit from a portable, durable, and dependable cooler during their excursions into the wild.
While this advertising strategy was effective, the brand was finding that its growth was hitting a plateau and was in need of a creative solution that would expand the company's reach.
Instead of catering to the same audience as before, the marketing team aimed their sights on a different population of potential consumers: the younger generations who partake in social gatherings like outdoor picnics and parties, and appreciate high-quality goods.
The challenge then was to grab this youthful audience's attention in a digital world that's already saturated with brand messaging, and position YETI in their minds as the premium cooler brand that keeps things cold for an absurdly long time.
Meanwhile, since its conception, Liquid Death was finding significant success in the teenage to young adult consumer arenas, standing out for their signature dark humor and attention-grabbing advertising. Much of their success could be attributed to the large social following they’ve built for themselves by creating an outlandish universe wherein everything that enters turns to death and destruction.
They’ve expanded this comedic universe into many markets, but had yet to tap that of outdoor and recreation, which they knew would be a fruitful area to play.
Creative Idea
To breach their respective new markets and introduce themselves to fresh audiences with an unforgettable first impression, the two brands came together and devised a net-new product that perfectly blended their two worlds: the YETI x Liquid Death Casket Cooler.
A life-sized, high-performance YETI cooler in the shape of a coffin, built specifically to handle the most badass of beverages: Liquid Death.
Created in the iconic coffin shape synonymous with eternal preservation and paired with the tagline "Keep drinks cold for an eternity," the Casket Cooler would become a strong symbolic metaphor for the extreme and debatably unnatural length of time YETI coolers are able to preserve the contents kept within them. In this case, an eternity.
Through this unprecedented partnership and construction of the highly coveted one-of-one Casket Cooler, both brands would be given access to new demographics that would have otherwise remained untapped.
The idea of the Casket Cooler had the potential to not only catapult the YETI brand into the Gen-Z and Millennial marketplace, but empower Liquid Death to make bold new moves into the outdoor recreation space, while strengthening their name as a category leader.
A life-sized, high-performance YETI cooler in the shape of a coffin, built specifically to handle the most badass of beverages: Liquid Death.
Created in the iconic coffin shape synonymous with eternal preservation and paired with the tagline "Keep drinks cold for an eternity," the Casket Cooler would become a strong symbolic metaphor for the extreme and debatably unnatural length of time YETI coolers are able to preserve the contents kept within them. In this case, an eternity.
Through this unprecedented partnership and construction of the highly coveted one-of-one Casket Cooler, both brands would be given access to new demographics that would have otherwise remained untapped.
The idea of the Casket Cooler had the potential to not only catapult the YETI brand into the Gen-Z and Millennial marketplace, but empower Liquid Death to make bold new moves into the outdoor recreation space, while strengthening their name as a category leader.
Insights & Strategy
The primary insights that led to the strategy behind the Casket Cooler were the ones gathered when researching this new audience and age group that YETI aimed to reach and win over. A large one was that the previous and familiar tonality of the YETI brand would have to shift to one more youthful and comedic.
This discovery played a major part in electing to go the way of a partnership activation that would give YETI the permission within its existing core audience to stray the course from its typical brand voice, so the company could stand out in a new market.
And for YETI, there was no better partner to help them do that than Liquid Death.
Similarly, amid their mission to build a world around their brand, Liquid Death saw an opportunity to create a premium cooler that would house their equally premium beverages. Partnering with YETI was a strategic move to affirm their reputation as a top-tier product.
The two brands also uncovered the insight that their younger target demographic received around 70-76 percent of their entertainment, news, and media through social channels – which drove the decision to make the Casket Cooler a social-first activation.
Furthermore, they contemplated on how to make the partnership's talk value extend beyond a single moment and maintain the hype over an extended period of time.
The result was a 5-day long online auction hosted on LiquidDeath.com/YETI. Opting to auction off the Casket Cooler to a highest bidder was a successful strategy that turned a singular idea into a week-long activation.
This discovery played a major part in electing to go the way of a partnership activation that would give YETI the permission within its existing core audience to stray the course from its typical brand voice, so the company could stand out in a new market.
And for YETI, there was no better partner to help them do that than Liquid Death.
Similarly, amid their mission to build a world around their brand, Liquid Death saw an opportunity to create a premium cooler that would house their equally premium beverages. Partnering with YETI was a strategic move to affirm their reputation as a top-tier product.
The two brands also uncovered the insight that their younger target demographic received around 70-76 percent of their entertainment, news, and media through social channels – which drove the decision to make the Casket Cooler a social-first activation.
Furthermore, they contemplated on how to make the partnership's talk value extend beyond a single moment and maintain the hype over an extended period of time.
The result was a 5-day long online auction hosted on LiquidDeath.com/YETI. Opting to auction off the Casket Cooler to a highest bidder was a successful strategy that turned a singular idea into a week-long activation.
Execution
The creation of the Casket Cooler, an authentic and fully-functional cooler the size of an actual life-size casket, was an 8-month long undertaking for YETI's Internal Research & Development Engineering Department. Part of the challenge was building what would be YETI's largest and most detailed cooler ever made and simultaneously ensuring that it performed to the cold-holding standards that every YETI product guarantees.
The solution was a completely unique hybrid YETI cooler that implemented multiple innovations, instead of just one. These innovations included YETI Triple ColdCell(TM) technology, a 20-gauge steel exterior, YETI T-Latch Lid Locks, and YETI Dual Drain Valves. To further reinforce the collaboration of YETI and Liquid Death, the interior lids were laser-etched with Liquid Death's signature tagline "Murder Your Thirst." In addition, a custom metallic name plate that is notorious with YETI's branding was made to include the Liquid Death logo.
The final product was an 85 pound, 435 liter YETI x Liquid Death Casket Cooler that measured 83 inches in width, 28 inches in diameter, and 23 inches in height. In other words, big enough to hold 252 Liquid Death tallboys without ice.
The commercial film announcing the collaboration and one-of-one Casket Cooler was directed and produced by Liquid Death's internal team, and was thematically treated to feel like an extension of their existing campaign – a universe where coolers also just happen to look like caskets.
It was carefully shot so that it could seamlessly be cropped to fit the dimensions for Instagram and TikTok, as that is where we knew the majority of our intended demographic would be found, ready to receive the video, comment on it, and share it with their friend network.
In addition, the activation was promoted to both brand audiences through Email newsletter, SMS, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
The solution was a completely unique hybrid YETI cooler that implemented multiple innovations, instead of just one. These innovations included YETI Triple ColdCell(TM) technology, a 20-gauge steel exterior, YETI T-Latch Lid Locks, and YETI Dual Drain Valves. To further reinforce the collaboration of YETI and Liquid Death, the interior lids were laser-etched with Liquid Death's signature tagline "Murder Your Thirst." In addition, a custom metallic name plate that is notorious with YETI's branding was made to include the Liquid Death logo.
The final product was an 85 pound, 435 liter YETI x Liquid Death Casket Cooler that measured 83 inches in width, 28 inches in diameter, and 23 inches in height. In other words, big enough to hold 252 Liquid Death tallboys without ice.
The commercial film announcing the collaboration and one-of-one Casket Cooler was directed and produced by Liquid Death's internal team, and was thematically treated to feel like an extension of their existing campaign – a universe where coolers also just happen to look like caskets.
It was carefully shot so that it could seamlessly be cropped to fit the dimensions for Instagram and TikTok, as that is where we knew the majority of our intended demographic would be found, ready to receive the video, comment on it, and share it with their friend network.
In addition, the activation was promoted to both brand audiences through Email newsletter, SMS, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Results
The commercial announcing the YETI x Liquid Death Casket Cooler quickly became the highest-performing social post for both brand's accounts, racking up nearly 27 million views across TikTok and Instagram in the first day alone.
Creating a flurry of comments and reposts, as well as major influencer video posts made specifically to call out the collaboration, the Casket Cooler garnered over 50.7 Million social impressions.
It was covered by news outlets across the country, leading to 54 unique press articles from outlets including MSN, CBS, Fox5, AOL, Yahoo!, Entertainment, Gear Patrol, Delish, AdAge, Food & Wine, and many more. The end result was 1.2 Billion press impressions.
By the day of the auction, the collaboration resulted in an estimated media value of 11.5 Million dollars.
When the bidding for the Casket Cooler came to a close, the winning number was a whopping $68,200. The victors were the production team at CBS Network, who purchased it to be used on the CBS original series, “Ghosts.”
To this day, it continues to get attention from CBS viewers on both television and social media.
Creating a flurry of comments and reposts, as well as major influencer video posts made specifically to call out the collaboration, the Casket Cooler garnered over 50.7 Million social impressions.
It was covered by news outlets across the country, leading to 54 unique press articles from outlets including MSN, CBS, Fox5, AOL, Yahoo!, Entertainment, Gear Patrol, Delish, AdAge, Food & Wine, and many more. The end result was 1.2 Billion press impressions.
By the day of the auction, the collaboration resulted in an estimated media value of 11.5 Million dollars.
When the bidding for the Casket Cooler came to a close, the winning number was a whopping $68,200. The victors were the production team at CBS Network, who purchased it to be used on the CBS original series, “Ghosts.”
To this day, it continues to get attention from CBS viewers on both television and social media.
2025 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Brand-Side / In-House Agency
YETI / Austin
Liquid Death / Los Angeles
Chief Marketing Officer
Paulie Dery
Creative Director
Mike Schneberg
Robert Fraze
Producer
Cookie Walukas
Writer
Will Carsola
Brand Manager
Jeanne Irwin
Commercial Co-Director
Johnny Eastlund
Design Engineer
Don Desroches
Director of Product Development
Nathan Mack
Marketing Manager
Brit Perry
Sr. Program Manager
Caitlin Allen
VP of Apparel & Merch
Misha Brunelli
VP of Creative
Andy Pearson
VP of Cult Indoctrination
Stephen Nilsen
VP of Marketing
Greg Fass
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