The United States controversy surrounding AI data centres is extending from community protests to brand marketing. Business Insider reports that as external concerns about water and energy consumption in data centres rise, some consumer brands begin to directly include such sentiments in advertising.

Garage Beer and Liquid Death launched sarcasm ads.

The latest cases are from former NFL player Jason Kelce, a beer brand that invests in Garage Beer, and a canned beverage brand, Liquid Death. In a joint advertisement, the two companies used an exaggerated approach to cooling water in the AI data centre.

In the ad, Kelce claims, in a dramatic way, that the AI data centre wasted millions of gallons of water and advanced “mitting urine down to the data centre” as a joke point. The small end words indicate that the urine is not actually sent out.

The two companies then stated to Business Insider that the collaboration had continued their respective black and humorous brand styles, but also wished to draw attention to water issues.

Anti-AI marketing into consumer brand advertising

This is not the first brand case where an AI dispute was used for dissemination. The report mentions that after the backlash over marketing content last year, Heineken put a billboard in New York, stressing that "the best way to make friends is to make friends at the beer table."

Polly has added a similar expression to the marketing campaign this summer, with an advertisement that says that instead of letting the data centre drink all the water, it would be better to jump into the water. Such expressions show that some brands are turning public fatigue and disquiet over AI into more easily disseminated consumer narratives.

Liquid Death, Vice President of Creative Commons, Andy Pearson, said to the media that opposition to AI data centres has become an almost consensual topic across political and cultural groups. The Chief Executive Officer of Garage Beer, Andy Sauer, also said that water was the most valuable resource and that data centres were the most topical issue of the day.

AI has stepped up its positive response.

In the face of growing challenges, AI also began to respond with advertising. Meta last month published an advertisement depicting its understanding of the AI future and clearly refuting the pessimism about the impact of technology. Anthropic ads respond directly to public anxiety and use more powerful images to present the questions raised by AI.

Reports indicate that the AI data centre is experiencing greater resistance in many parts of the United States. Through protests and lawsuits, residents prevented new projects from landing, focusing mainly on three points: water, electricity and the resulting higher utility costs and noise.

  • The population is concerned about the scale of water consumption in the data centre cooling system
  • Local communities are worried about the electricity bill.
  • New projects also face noise and land use disputes

Business Insider's previous analysis also mentioned that reliance on cold-water data centres in part is exacerbating water stress in some parts of the United States. As AI infrastructure continues to expand, related disputes are no longer confined to the science and technology industry, but rather enter the wider public sphere of opinion.