Lipton Hard Iced Tea Puts Humor at the Heart of Its Tailgate Marketing

Tailgating may be all about beer, but Lipton Hard Iced Tea wants to change what fans expect on game day.

Together with Founders Agency, the brand kicked off its new “Tailgate Anything” platform with V.I.PEE.

It's a cheeky luxury bathroom experience staged at Hammer’s Lot outside the Buffalo Bills stadium.

Ten pristine stalls, a velvet-rope entry managed by a bouncer, oversized games, photo ops, and giveaways were all part of the event.

The goal of the initiative is actually simple: to turn an otherwise unglamorous part of football culture into something memorable.

But more than that, it also wants to get fans thinking about hard tea instead of just beer.

“Beer has long dominated tailgate culture, but it also dominates the porta-potty lines,” said Kristin Mizushima and Katie Reid, Creative Directors at Founders Agency.

“By solving tailgating’s dirtiest problem, Lipton Hard Iced Tea gave fans a reason to rethink the ritual and try out hard tea.”

The launch marks the first step in Lipton Hard Iced Tea’s wider campaign, which markets the 5% ABV drink as a refreshing alternative to traditional game-day beverages. 

And on top of that, the brand is using humor, stunts, and unexpected brand experiences to expand beyond beer’s stronghold in tailgating.

“We see Lipton Hard Iced Tea continuing to earn loyalty by showing up with distinct, fresh activations like V.I.PEE that turn the brand’s ethos into experiences people will remember,” Founders CCO Checha Agost Carreño shared.

If fans start associating tailgates with more choice and better experiences, Lipton Hard Iced Tea could carve out a lasting spot in a beer-heavy tradition.

From Porta-Potties to Platforms

The "Tailgate Anything" platform isn’t limited to one stunt.

Lipton Hard Iced Tea plans to extend it with social campaigns and live events throughout 2026, building on its record of offbeat marketing ideas.

Previous collaborations with Founders included “Don’t Retire the Party,” a retirement home rave aimed at celebrating boomer energy.

Another notable initiative is “Can Daddy,” a nine-foot groundhog made of 6,000 cans that toured the country to promote fun under the sun.

At the Bills tailgate, V.I.PEE served as both entertainment and proof of concept.

If a bathroom break can be turned into a brand activation, then almost any everyday moment can be reframed as a reason to tailgate.

It’s a strategy rooted in finding unconventional ways to keep the brand at the center of fan rituals.

The coming months will see the "Tailgate Anything" idea scale into other live activations and digital pushes.

All to cement hard tea as a part of American sports culture.

Flipping mundane traditions into shareable experiences helps with that, and the brand hopes to create social media moments that ripple far beyond parking lots.

Our Take: Porta-Potty as Sports Market Entry?

I like this move because it shows how a brand can win attention by addressing a problem no one talks about.

Lipton Hard Iced Tea’s stunt feels on-brand without being forced, and V.I.PEE is the kind of stunt that cuts across demographics.

It entertains younger fans but also resonates with older ones who just want a cleaner option.

Through the playful disruption, the company is carving out a unique place in a space long dominated by beer.

To me, this signals a clear direction. If you can own the bathroom line at a tailgate, you can own the conversation everywhere else.

In other news, Toyota and Saatchi deepened their NFL presence this season with giveaways, youth football programs, and activations.

The best stunts solve problems while sparking conversation.

These experiential marketing agencies design activations that feel clever, relevant, and impossible to ignore.