Build a Creative Strategy: Create a Parallel World
What is the Create a Parallel World Strategy and when should I use it?
Look, your brand is boring. It’s a commodity in a sea of beige. The Create a Parallel World strategy is your escape hatch from reality. It’s about building a fictional universe where your product’s core truth is amplified until it’s impossible to ignore. Use it when your category is drowning in "lifestyle" imagery and generic promises of happiness. If your USP is actually interesting but the context is dull, drag it into a new dimension. It’s for brands with enough guts to stop pretending they’re "disruptive" and actually do something weird enough to get noticed. Just do it now.
How to execute this strategy effectively
Execution requires you to stop being a coward. You aren't just making an ad; you are writing the laws of physics for a new reality. Start with one undeniable truth—like "water hydrates"—and then dial the intensity up to eleven. If water hydrates, then in this world, it’s a life-saving elixir or a violent force of nature. Consistency is the only thing keeping the illusion alive. If you break character for a second to sound "corporate," the whole thing collapses. Commit to the bit until it hurts. Hire people who get the joke, and fire anyone who asks for a "safe" version of the script. Go.
Example: Liquid Death – "Murder Your Thirst"
Liquid Death didn’t just sell water; they built a heavy metal hellscape where tallboys "murder your thirst." Instead of yoga retreats and mountain springs, they gave us decapitations and demonic mascots. They treated H2O like a banned substance, complete with "Keep the Underworld Beautiful" recycling campaigns. By creating a parallel world where hydration is hardcore, they turned a boring commodity into a cult-like lifestyle brand. Epic.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed in 4C Framework
Company INSIGHT
Liquid Death sells mountain water in aluminum cans that look exactly like beer tallboys, allowing for a radical shift in visual presentation.
Category INSIGHT
The bottled water category is filled with soft, feminine imagery of yoga, purity, and peaceful mountain springs that feel clinical and boring.
Strategy:
Reposition water as a hardcore, rebellious beverage by adopting the aesthetic and attitude of heavy metal and craft beer.
Customer INSIGHT
Younger consumers want to stay hydrated but find traditional water brands incredibly lame, corporate, and disconnected from their actual interests.
Culture INSIGHT
The rise of 'straight edge' culture and the desire for non-alcoholic options that still look 'cool' at a concert or party without looking like a kid.
Strategy:
Reposition water as a hardcore, rebellious beverage by adopting the aesthetic and attitude of heavy metal and craft beer.
Company INSIGHT
Liquid Death sells mountain water in aluminum cans that look exactly like beer tallboys, allowing for a radical shift in visual presentation.
Category INSIGHT
The bottled water category is filled with soft, feminine imagery of yoga, purity, and peaceful mountain springs that feel clinical and boring.
Customer INSIGHT
Younger consumers want to stay hydrated but find traditional water brands incredibly lame, corporate, and disconnected from their actual interests.
Culture INSIGHT
The rise of 'straight edge' culture and the desire for non-alcoholic options that still look 'cool' at a concert or party without looking like a kid.
Why is Create a Parallel World a Great Strategy?
It forces people to stop scrolling because they can't believe a brand is actually being this weird.
Breaks through the clutter of boring ads.
Creates an instant, high-intensity brand identity.
Makes the mundane product truth feel legendary.
Filters out customers who don't get it.
This strategy works because it treats the audience like they have a brain and a sense of humor. You aren't begging for attention; you're building a club. When you stop trying to please everyone, you actually start mattering to someone.
! When not to use the "Create a Parallel World" Strategy
Don't use this strategy if your legal team has a heart attack every time you use a word stronger than "synergy." You'll just end up with a lukewarm mess.
Steps to implement: Stop Being Boring and Start Building Worlds
Identify Your Brand’s Most Obvious Truth
Don't overthink this. What does your product actually do? Liquid Death knew water hydrates and comes in a can. That’s it. Find that one boring fact and pin it to the wall. You can’t build a world on a lie, so find the most basic truth you’ve been ignoring because it felt too simple to be a "strategy."
Crank the Intensity Until It Breaks
Take that truth and push it into the absurd. If your software saves time, don't show a happy worker; show a world where time is the only currency and people are literally dying for a second. The goal is to take a mild benefit and turn it into a life-or-death situation. If it doesn't feel slightly uncomfortable, you aren't pushing hard enough.
Draft the Laws of Your Universe
Every world needs rules. What’s the aesthetic? What’s the vocabulary? Liquid Death chose heavy metal and gore. Your world needs a visual language that matches the intensity of your cranked-up truth. This isn't a mood board; it's a constitution. If a design element looks like it belongs in a generic stock photo library, burn it and start over again.
Commit to the Bit Without Exception
This is where most strategies go to die. You have to stay in character across every touchpoint. From your 404 pages to your packaging, the world must remain intact. If Liquid Death had one "corporate-friendly" ad, the magic would vanish. You are the god of this world; don't let reality leak in and ruin the vibe for your customers.
Invite Your Audience to Join In
A world is lonely if nobody else lives there. Create ways for your customers to participate in the fiction. Sell merch that fits the universe, use the weird language in your emails, and reward people for "getting it." When customers start using your world’s slang, you’ve stopped being a brand and started being a culture. That’s how you win this game.
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