Liquid Death and Garage Beers Pee-Pitched Ad Highlights Growing U.S. Data-Center Debate
Imagine a world where your morning pee could power the next big AI breakthrough. That’s the absurd premise behind a 90‑second splash‑y commercial that Liquid Death and Garage Beer dropped on Tuesday. The ad, starring former NFL center Jason Kelce, urges viewers to send their urine straight to the data‑center of their choice. It hit the internet at the same moment Florida voters were heading to the polls for the gubernatorial primary—an election in which data‑center policy was front‑and‑center. Republican Representative Byron Donalds emerged victorious, taking the ticket to the November general election.
Andy Pearson, Liquid Death’s vice‑president of creative, told CNBC that the idea began as a summer joke. “We were laughing about using pee to cool equipment instead of water,” he said. The joke grew into a joint production with Garage Beer, the light‑lager brand owned by Jason and his brother Travis Kelce. The final cut is a tongue‑in‑cheek call‑to‑action that plays on the absurdity of turning bodily waste into the lifeblood of AI.
Donald’s win came on the heels of his Protecting Ratepayers Act, a bill that would shift the financial burden of data‑center infrastructure from taxpayers to private developers. The act, promoted by Donald’s campaign, drew substantial backing from AI‑focused political action committees, including Leading the Future. A memo that CNBC obtained and that the National Republican Senatorial Committee cited described data centers as a “sleeper issue” poised to surface in the upcoming midterm cycle.
Across the United States, data‑center growth is accelerating. Large facilities that house the hardware powering AI models are popping up in a growing number of states, and industry projections suggest the trend will continue as hyperscalers expand. Public concern has followed suit. A Pew Research Center report released on Tuesday found that more than half of Americans now feel more worried than excited about AI’s impact on daily life—a jump from 37 % in 2021. The study also noted that the worry is “universal” across political and cultural lines.
State governments are stepping up in their own ways. In Pennsylvania, Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order that imposes strict standards on new data‑center projects. Developers must now fund all necessary electricity and water infrastructure and engage with local communities. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, once a champion of data‑center development, has issued standards requiring companies to pay for electrical upgrades and to source their own water. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order that places a one‑year moratorium on large data centers, giving regulators time to craft new rules.
Tech giants are also trying to play the neighbor card. Microsoft released a January blog post outlining steps it will take to be a good neighbor in the communities where it builds. OpenAI followed suit with a pledge to pay for its own energy, reduce water use, and invest in local jobs. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, speaking on X, acknowledged the public’s distrust of the tech industry, saying, “ordinary people don’t trust companies, governments, or the tech industry.”
The Liquid Death and Garage Beer ad, while comedic, taps into a real and growing conversation about the environmental and economic costs of AI infrastructure. Data centers consume vast amounts of water and electricity, and critics warn that those costs can bleed into local utility bills. As the 2026 midterm elections loom, the debate over who should shoulder the price of data‑center expansion—and how it should be regulated—remains a key issue for voters and lawmakers alike.
