Odd partnerships—the strangest brand collaborations you just didn’t see coming

Brand collaborations are everywhere. We see them on our social media feeds, supermarket shelves, and even by the side of the bath. Most of the time, collabs tend to involve brands in similar industries or with similar values, creating exclusive offers tailored to their overlapping audiences. The best brand collaborations help boost a brand’s credibility, enable it to discover new and engaged customers, and deliver genuine value to its current customer base. When they work, brand collaborations can be magic. 

And occasionally, the strangest of brand partnerships pop up—the ones that, on paper, just should not work, and yet somehow they do. So why would two polar opposite brands join forces? And what happens when they get it right? Below are some of the best brand collaboration examples we’ve seen recently. Love or loathe them, here are the surprising brand collabs you never knew you needed in your life. 

LUSH and DreamWorks, two brands that feel a world apart, recently joined forces to create seven limited edition, swampy self-care products. From Get Outta My Swamp body wash to the Gingy Bubble Bar, this unusual collaboration dived into the Shrek universe and did not hold back.

Although LUSH and the Shrek franchise feel very different, they share unexpected crossovers. Both embrace a cheeky, playful, witty tone. LUSH is all about natural, fresh ingredients, and Shrek loves bathing in mud and creating candles from his own earwax, which is very sustainable and ethical.

LUSH is tapping into a global, loyal, and multi-generational audience of Shrek fans with this collaboration, bringing in a swampload of new customers and offering exciting feel-good products for their existing customer base. For DreamWorks, this collaboration keeps Shrek relevant and rewards longtime fans with tangible ogre-inspired products, transporting them to a land far, far away.

As weird brand collaborations go, it doesn’t get much stranger than this. Meet the YETI and Liquid Death brand collab, in which the two brands teamed up to create a one-of-a-kind drinks cooler in the shape of a coffin. Yep. A life-size white ‘casket cooler’ to add life to any party, and to “keep your cans cold for an eternity”.

Despite being a weird collaboration, it’s pretty on-brand for the canned water creator Liquid Death and their motto, “Murder your thirst.” The crux of this collab is that they only created one cooler and auctioned it off to the highest bidder. The winning bid was a whopping £55,040.13.

Of course, it’s not totally wild for a trendy drinks company and a trendy water cooler brand to collaborate (if anything, it’s an obvious choice), but what is highly unusual is the concept and delivery of this collaboration: the white coffin, the decision to create only one in the world, and the exclusivity of the bidding process. Oh, and they promised the winner ‘white-glove delivery’, too.

Morbid but mesmerizing, this campaign was a great way to drive brand awareness to both YETI and Liquid Death. Hats off to them.

Here’s a recent weird brand collaboration that turned many heads: the Crocs x BARK crossover. The duo came together to create ‘Crocs for Dogs.’ Do our furry friends really need breathable, limited-edition Crocs to match with their owners? The global pet accessories market valued at $30.6 billion in 2024 would say… abso-doggy-lutely.

These limited-edition dog Crocs come in tie-dye pink or green and are available for BARK subscribers and in Croc stores (while stocks last). They have a grippy tread and adjustable Velcro at the back, and here’s the best bit: they glow in the dark! In urban areas, these Crocs will also protect paws from glass and sharp objects, so they have a real purpose beyond pure fashion.

This playful campaign introduced BARK to a new audience of loyal and creative Croc-wearers, leading to new first-time customers and boosting brand outreach. As for Croc, the collaboration allowed them to tap into a new canine market and offer a novel, innovative product to their ride-or-die fanbase. At $49.99 a pair, they’re not cheap. But for the right owner, they’re the pawfect product (sorry, not sorry).

Here’s an unexpected brand collaboration between Adidas and a local Singapore toast shop. It sounds rogue, but both brands really pulled this off. To celebrate Singapore’s 59th birthday, Adidas teamed up with Ya Kun Kaya, a chain of feel-good cafes based in Singapore, ‘to raise a toast’ on this national day.

What’s unusual about this collaboration is how Adidas decided to go local and celebrate the people (and baked goods) of Singapore. They collaborated on a range of trendy merch, which honored the kaya butter toast, soft-boiled eggs, and tea of Ya Kun Kaya. They also gave customers delicious samples outside the Adidas store in a simple but clever gesture to honor an important day while rewarding their customer base.

This collaboration highlights Adidas’s community-driven approach, working on a local level to boost customer relationships. Ultimately, what this unlikely pair has in common is heritage. They are two heritage brands working together to ensure their individual longevity. Clever. We’ll toast to that.

Now, let’s travel halfway back around the world to the UK, where an unexpected (and brilliant) brand collaboration took place last summer. Monzo, the digital bank, teamed up with Greggs, the iconic British bakery, to create a pop-up ATM that dispensed free and vegan sausage rolls. They crafted the world’s first sausage-roll-dispensing ATM to the streets of Newcastle to shout about their new brand partnership, where Monzo Perk and Max subscribers will receive a free weekly doughnut, hot drink, or (of course) sausage roll from Greggs.

The humorous (and delicious) pop-up showcases how this brand collaboration literally rewards its customers and incentivizes new customers to sign up to Monzo to receive these treats. Although this partnership in itself isn’t off-the-wall, their pop-up marketing is. This experiential advertising is powerful as it leaves a lasting imprint on those involved, helping people to associate joy, pleasure, and positivity with these two brands.

This marketing stunt on the streets of Newcastle—the city where Greggs was founded—is a clever move that shows just how switched on these brands (and their marketing teams) really are. 

Next, here’s an oddball tongue-in-cheek partnership that went viral last year. The unique collaboration between skincare brand CeraVe and Canadian actor Michael Cera was creative and played with notions of truth and fiction online. The two worked together to create an intricate conspiracy, claiming that Michael Cera has, in fact, been behind the CeraVe brand all along.

From Michael Cera dropping hints in interviews to being ‘spotted’ shopping for CeraVe by influencers, the two ‘Cera’s cooked up plenty of intrigue ahead of their big Super Bowl commercial reveal. The Super Bowl advert set the record straight, revealing that CeraVe was developed by a team of dermatologists, not by our favorite silly actor.

This was a clever yet risky campaign—deliberately tricking customers and creating ‘fake news’ could have gone horribly wrong. However, CeraVe came out on top, claiming that its website visits hit 74,000 and saw an audience growth of 3%. They used this collaboration to appeal to a broader audience, promoting their whole product range, and the numbers prove its success. CeraVe has cemented its reputation as a safe, dermatologist-developed, and culturally iconic brand. And Michael Cera looked cute, too. Undoubtedly, this is one of the best brand collaborations of 2024.

Heinz meets… high fashion? The Heinz x Kate Spade New York collaboration was not on our bingo card, but we’re here for it. The designer brand teamed up with the household staple Heinz to produce a limited-edition collection of joyful, ketchup-inspired clothing and accessories. This saucy collaboration includes tees, totes, and playful designer handbags that fuse the iconic iconography of both brands.

These two brands feel worlds apart, yet they focus on high-quality products, share a joyous and creative core, and have two separate legions of dedicated fans. This collaboration is compelling partly because it’s so bizarre—seeing Heinz, especially in a brand-new context, is exciting and disruptive.

With products ranging from $45 to $398, this line shows how high-fashion brands diversify their collections to appeal to new customers. It’s a clever move when so many brands, including Kate Spade New York, are seeing a fall in revenue. Quirky collaborations could be this brand’s saving grace.

Feeling inspired by the success of these unexpected brand collaborations? This is your sign to take a leaf out of their books and dive into the unconventional. Learn how to win over Gen-Z with your branding in 2025 and how to collaborate with brilliant digital artists.

And if you’re totally new to the world of branding, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. Jump into this list of the 10 rules of personal branding for creatives, or read up on our 2025 digital marketing trends, and you’ll be a pro before you know it. For all your branding needs, from logos to ready-made social media templates, check out the unlimited branding library we have for you at Envato.