It’s pretty hard to beat a campaign that had fun with Americans’ frustration over their choices for president in the 2024 election. I Malörted offered the famously “awful” taste of Malört as an alternative to voting for either of the candidates.

But Quality Meats and the liqueur flavoured with (intensely bitter) wormwood have succeeded, doubling down on the taste that you either like or loathe. The OOH campaign, Malört Tastes Like, proposes that the taste is like Fermented Back Sweat, A Nail Polish Enema, Back-Alley Surgery and Pesticides, Donkey Dick Dipped In Gasoline, Ashtray Rawdogging A Rotted Pine Tree, A Rat’s Farthole, and Crusty Residue Scraped Off Satan’s Taint.

…all even more outrageous than comedian, John Hodgman’s, now famous 2013 description, “pencil shavings and heartbreak”.

Of course, the campaign is a brilliant dare to try the product. And paradoxically irresistible, igniting the “curiosity gene” inside everyone, and capturing a new audience in its provocative web.

The campaign also includes the essential interactive element. The brand is asking the US to submit their description and will choose 15 for fans to vote on, rebranding its bottles with the top three. 

“People always try to describe the foul taste of it,” stated Gordy Sang, CCO and co-founder of Quality Meats. “There’s a lot of Twitter chatter and Reddit threads trying to enlighten people who haven’t tried it. Or just for shits and giggles. So tapping into the truth of how bad it tastes, and almost daring people to take a shot.”