Sobe Lifewater

In the mid-nineties, SoBe burst onto the beverage scene with an assortment of flavored drinks that struck a chord with kids across the country. After establishing themselves as a leader among youth-oriented consumers, SoBe wanted to enter the emerging flavored water market with LifeWater, a line of enhanced waters packed with vitamins and anti-oxidants. Before the product hit the market, SoBe sought out 160over90 to help with strategy, design and branding. After establishing the action sports market as a key demographic, our team identified key influencers who would help ensure that the product made into the right hands at its launch. The design and branding reflected the active lives led by the target and messaging boldly announced that there was a new arrival on the water scene.

This was the first time I had worked on a product that technically hadn’t existed yet. I recall thinking, “woaw, can we designz the bottlez! YEZ! *puppy eyes*” to which the clients said. Ah, no. A much larger, higher priced, experienced branding company is doing that. To which the end result was basically a carbon copy of VitaminWater that ended up getting them sued. *snicker* That did however, introduce me to this other world of multiple agencies working simultaneously on one product each with their own vision, to which I still scoff at and briskly say “Shame on you!.” The work generated for this campaign just happened to be the first time I welcomed copywriters into my heart as my lord and saviors. Brendan, I still gaze up at the stars and think of you, and all those nights we spent together.