Problem
Most energy drinks promise performance but deliver overstimulation.
Brands like Red Bull and Monster rely on intensity, speed, and excess, often resulting in jittery hands, racing hearts, and artificial “drive.”
For Mad Monk — a clean, coffee-based energy drink — the challenge was clear:
How do you stand out in a category obsessed with “more,” when your value lies in control and balance?
Brands like Red Bull and Monster rely on intensity, speed, and excess, often resulting in jittery hands, racing hearts, and artificial “drive.”
For Mad Monk — a clean, coffee-based energy drink — the challenge was clear:
How do you stand out in a category obsessed with “more,” when your value lies in control and balance?
Insight
There are moments where energy isn’t about hype. It’s about control.
For certain people and professions, being awake is non-negotiable, but being jittery is dangerous. Overstimulation doesn’t just feel wrong, it actively works against performance.
The real tension:
People don’t always need more energy. They need focused calm.
For certain people and professions, being awake is non-negotiable, but being jittery is dangerous. Overstimulation doesn’t just feel wrong, it actively works against performance.
The real tension:
People don’t always need more energy. They need focused calm.
Strategic
Idea
Idea
To dramatize Mad Monk’s USP — awake, not jittery — we placed the product in situations where calm focus is literally a matter of consequence.
We identified professions where alertness is critical and shaky hands are catastrophic.
Instead of talking about the drink, we let the scenario do the explaining.
We identified professions where alertness is critical and shaky hands are catastrophic.
Instead of talking about the drink, we let the scenario do the explaining.
Creative
Execution
Execution
A series of YouTube pre-roll ads featuring professionals at the exact moment where focus matters most:
• A bomb disposal technician, seconds before cutting the wire
• A snake venom milker, holding death in his hands
• A traditional ear cleaner, working millimeters from damage
Each film builds tension quietly — no chaos, no speed — just a breath, a pause, and a choice. The scenarios carry a layer of dark, absurd humor: professions so specific and high-stakes they feel almost unreal — yet remain believable.
• A bomb disposal technician, seconds before cutting the wire
• A snake venom milker, holding death in his hands
• A traditional ear cleaner, working millimeters from damage
Each film builds tension quietly — no chaos, no speed — just a breath, a pause, and a choice. The scenarios carry a layer of dark, absurd humor: professions so specific and high-stakes they feel almost unreal — yet remain believable.
Focused or Fucked?
Drink Mad Monk. Stay awake, not jittery.
Drink Mad Monk. Stay awake, not jittery.
The tone balances monk-like calm with Mad Monk’s quirky, slightly bizarre edge, making the message memorable without breaking focus.
The Bomb Diffuser
The Venom Milker
The Ear Cleaner
Why Pre-Roll
YouTube pre-rolls are often skipped because they shout. We chose to do the opposite.
By opening with calm, high-stakes moments, the films interrupt scrolling behavior through tension, not noise — earning attention before the skip button matters.
By opening with calm, high-stakes moments, the films interrupt scrolling behavior through tension, not noise — earning attention before the skip button matters.
Assumed Impact
• Clear differentiation from high-stimulus energy drinks
• Strong memorability through unexpected, high-stakes scenarios and dark, absurd humor
• Intuitive understanding of the product benefit
• A brand association with control, focus, and composure
The campaign positions Mad Monk not as “more energy”
but as the right kind of energy.
By dramatizing extreme moments of focus, the campaign translates a niche functional benefit into a universally relatable desire: energy without losing control.
• Strong memorability through unexpected, high-stakes scenarios and dark, absurd humor
• Intuitive understanding of the product benefit
• A brand association with control, focus, and composure
The campaign positions Mad Monk not as “more energy”
but as the right kind of energy.
By dramatizing extreme moments of focus, the campaign translates a niche functional benefit into a universally relatable desire: energy without losing control.
Client: MÄDMONK
Agency: TANKTANK
My Position: Copywriter
My Part: Strategy, Concept and Copy
