Canned water brand Liquid Death has released a wry new spot starring actor and comedian Whitney Cummings, who plays the role of a cosmetic surgery saleswoman at the Liquid Death Recycled Plastic Surgery Center. In the ad, she introduces a radical response to dealing with plastic waste: “Only 5% of plastic actually gets recycled, the rest winds up in landfills or oceans. But now, it can wind up in you.”

Developed in collaboration with creative agency Party Land, the ad leans fully into the grotesque factor. If the sound of plastic writhing beneath the skin doesn’t go far enough, then the sight of plastic waste being packed into a patient’s body will surely be burned in the back of viewers’ eyeballs. It spoofs cosmetic surgery infomercials to the point of including a disclaimer instructing people to “consult your doctor before surgically implanting plastic trash inside you”.

The approach reflects Liquid Death’s on-the-nose approach to advertising. “One of the constant human conditions is being marketed to,” VP of creative Andy Pearson told us last year. “No matter what happens, you can’t escape advertising and marketing, so we’re poking at that very notion. We’re doing this thing where it’s universal. Everyone gets the reference of like, ‘oh damn, another fucking ad’. You’re already annoyed, so we’re already on your side with that.”

He continued: “All we try and do is make a great piece of entertainment and put it out into the world. Our whole thing is to win the internet for the day, and make the best thing someone is going to see that day.”

partyland.co