At Canva Create, two of the boldest and most culturally fluent brands in the game — Liquid Death and Duolingo — took the stage to share what happens when companies stop advertising and start entertaining. What followed was not just a discussion about marketing but a full-on redefinition of what it means to be a brand in 2025.
“I mean, our premise is really simple,” said Dan Murphy, SVP of Marketing at Liquid Death. “People hate ads, so we do not make them. We try to put content out that wins the internet for the day.”
That single line captures the ethos driving Liquid Death’s rise as a disruptor brand — one that operates less like a beverage company and more like a pop-culture publisher. Whether it is partnering with metal bands, launching outlandish stunts, or spoofing diet culture, the brand prioritises entertainment over convention.
“We look at ourselves as an entertainment company as well as a beverage company,” Murphy explained during the session. “The model we use is a little bit like Saturday Night Live. They have had that longevity because they bring new people on their stage and riff on culture. We feel we can do the same.”
And they do — with a behind-the-scenes system that powers all the madness. “Everything that we put out — at least two major moments a month, plus all the supporting content — is 100% planned through a writer’s room approach,” Murphy shared. “As long as we’re making people laugh and getting press to write about it for free, we are doing our job.”
On the flip side of that entertainment-first coin is Duolingo, a brand equally agile and creative but with a different kind of energy, one that is deeply native to internet culture. With its quirky, persistent green owl and a social team that lives inside the memesphere, Duolingo doesn’t just keep up with culture — it becomes part of it.
“I kind of created just these characters and this brand that is so alive,” said Kelsey Dempsey, social media content creator at Duolingo. “There is never a same day. Whether we’re showing up at a Charli XCX concert with 20 Duo heads or jumping on a trending meme, we’re always looking for ways to surprise our audience.”
Their most viral moments — whether chaotic TikToks or unexpected IRL appearances — aren’t accidents. They’re born from an understanding that brands today must behave more like people: responsive, playful, and a little unpredictable.
“I love how there’s kind of a blurred line between pop culture and internet culture,” Dempsey reflected. “Pop culture might be White Lotus or the Met Gala. But internet culture is how that stuff lives online — how it is memed, referenced, and reshaped. That’s where we thrive.”
And yes, that includes full commitment: “You can tell your daughter I do wear the owl suit sometimes,” she laughed. “We roll up our sleeves whenever we need to.”
What Liquid Death and Duolingo have in common — and what became especially clear at Canva Create — is that both understand the rules of engagement have changed. Success isn’t measured in impressions alone but in whether a brand can inspire people to talk, laugh, and share.
They are not interrupting culture. They are co-creating it.
Because today, it’s not about placing ads. It’s about becoming the content people choose to watch.
