I bought (and cooked) the David Cod

When David, the protein bar company known for its insane macros and aggressive marketing, dropped a frozen cod filet, I knew I had to try it. Not because it is particularly good value, it's expensive ass cod, but because the sheer audacity of a protein bar company selling fish was too fun to pass up.

My cod arrived frozen perfectly solid, packed in dry ice in a cleanly branded box. They credit @Fishermankyle, the founder of Alaskan Salmon Company and another viral sensation with the cod's sourcing in the box.

I baked it with a simple preparation of lemon, salt, pepper, and paprika – pretty standard fish fare. The result was a perfectly flaky, clean-tasting piece of cod that would give any premium frozen fish brand a run for its money. But that's not really the point, is it?

What makes this stunt particularly clever is how it manages to be both completely absurd and entirely on-brand simultaneously. David's whole thing is about clean protein with minimal ingredients, and what's cleaner than a piece of wild-caught cod? The macros are actually better than their flagship protein bar – a fact that feels like it's both the joke and the point.

The nutrition breakdown reads like a protein enthusiast's dream: 23g of protein per serving, zero carbs, and just 100 calories. It's almost comically aligned with David's brand proposition. They even went as far as having it lab tested, because of course.

DTC brands are always churning out increasingly desperate social media stunts or questionable limited drops, David went and created something that's:

1. Actually useful
2. Perfectly aligned with their brand
3. Better than their core product (in pure macro terms)
4. Real and purchasable

It feels a lot like the way that MSCHF works. A marketing stunt that doesn't feel like one. The packaging even maintains their minimalist aesthetic, and the whole thing feels like it's both a joke and not a joke at the same time – which is precisely where great marketing often lives. It's self-aware enough to be funny but committed enough to be legitimate.

I already buy boxes of David bars and store them in my fridge, using them as occassional meal replacements or protein top ups.

But is anyone going to start regularly buying their cod from a protein bar company? Probably not. But David has once again managed to get people talking about protein content and clean ingredients – their core message – while doing something memorable enough to cut through the noise.

In a world of increasingly desperate marketing stunts, there's something refreshing about one that's actually... good. The cod is good. The marketing is good. The alignment is good. It's all just good.

And yes, I'm aware that by writing about it, I'm helping them win at the attention game. But when the stunt is this well-executed, sometimes you just have to tip your hat and enjoy your surprisingly excellent protein bar company cod.