Am I allowed to swear in a headline? I just did so here we are. Let’s see if gmail bans me. And crowds of school teachers come after me. And then I end up destined for Hades where I’ll be forced to rebrand Satan’s snack range and run influencer campaigns for a cursed protein bar made of pure regret.

If you’re feeling like this is a little unhinged, then we are on the right path. Because today’s article is all about negative branding.

This episode is part III in my ongoing series around Vices (Pt. I here) and (Pt. II here), I’m calling it…

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Branding gone bad

Why would anyone buy something that sounds morbid, weird, or outright depressing?

Are you sick of the overly positive, kombucha-sipping wellness whackos? Well you’re not alone. It turns out “healthy” can be more than pastel colour palettes and minimalism. A growing number of FMCG players are doing the opposite: leaning into death, chaos, sadness, and irony. They’re not trying to make you feel safe. They’re trying to make you look twice.

Liquid Death might be the poster child for this movement, but it’s far from alone. Welcome to the world of anti-branding, where the dark side sells, and subversion is the strategy.

The psychology of ‘cool’.

Legendary ad man and consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier once did the most uncool thing imaginable - he studied what makes something cool.

His research digs into the cultural and psychological forces behind how people, brands, and ideas earn that elusive status. It’s fascinating stuff (and also... academic and very long, read at your own risk).

Ferrier breaks it down into eight key traits. And almost every one of them shows up in today’s wave of subversive branding:

1. Rebellion and non-conformity

2. Effortless confidence

3. Cultural relevance and edge 

4. Social currency

5. Exclusivity and scarcity

6. Authenticity

7. Reinvention and evolution

8. Mystery

This feels less like a theory and more like a checklist for the cool brands of today. Well played Adam.

Social currency and the in-group signal.

Negativity in branding isn’t just for shock value, it’s also a wink to the people who get it.

Brands like Sad Girl Matcha aren’t trying to please everyone. They're building a vibe. If you’re in on the irony, you’re part of the club. There’s a kind of social flex in using a product that says sad girl while eating ceremonial-grade matcha ice cream. It’s a tongue-in-cheek rejection of hyper-curated, #blessed wellness culture.

People use ironic products to signal identity - flipping the expected meaning. What looks weird or depressing on the surface is actually a way to say, “I’m self-aware, I don’t take myself too seriously, and I see through the bullshit.” And the kicker? If someone doesn’t get it, that just makes it even better.

Take life less seriously. Be entertaining.

Humour’s a big part of the playbook.

Dark, ironic jokes work because they mess with expectations in a harmless way, what psychologists call benign violation theory. Basically: it’s funny when something feels a little wrong, but not actually threatening.

So when a brand like Liquid Death says “this might kill you” (but it’s just water), they’re breaking the golden rule of marketing (don’t offend the customer) and getting away with it. Why? Because it’s clearly a joke. That tension between danger and play is what makes it memorable.

And memory is the name of the game. Humour sticks. It gets noticed, it gets shared, and it gives people something to talk about. Which is exactly what these anti-brands are counting on.

Create and release tension.

Edgy brands leverage this type of emotional dissonance as a hook. This means pairing a product with an emotion or tone you’d never expect for it, creating a little jolt of cognitive tension. How far you push that tension is up to you.

Using naughty words

I’m gonna close the loop here by going back to the idea of swearing.

It’s not just about being edgy for the sake of it. Swearing says: we’re not here to be polite. It can make brands feel human, like a mate and not a marketing team in a glass box. And the research backs it up. In the right context, swearing can actually make brands feel more honest and relatable. It cuts through the polish. Feels real. And if it fits the tone, it can build trust, not break it.

But like all edgy branding, tone matters. It works when it’s playful, not aggressive. “Bitchin’ Sauce” feels cheeky. “Shut Up and Eat It” (another actual product name) feels confrontational – which might still work, but it limits the appeal. If a brand tries too hard to be edgy or uses swearing as a gimmick without a strong brand personality to back it up, it comes off as juvenile or desperate.

Where does that leave us?

Negative branding isn’t just shock for shock’s sake, it’s strategy. The weird, the dark, the ironic, the unhinged... they’re all deliberate moves to stand out, build in-group clout, and create something actually memorable.

Whether it’s swearing, sadness, or death, these brands are flipping the script on what FMCG is supposed to look like — and it’s working. Because in a world full of polished positivity, sometimes the most powerful branding move is to say the unspeakable, and mean it (kind of).

What do you think?