Ever stumble into a corner of the Internet and think “how the fuck did I get here”? Maybe it was time lost down a YouTube rabbit hole, maybe it was endlessly scrolling Insta while half watching re-runs of the Office.

Or maybe, it was coming across a strange subreddit devoted to sparkling water.

Today’s episode is all about how a sleepy flavour forum somehow evolved into one of the most bizarre, irreverent and wholesome cults on Reddit. I’m calling it…

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The post that started it all.

For the uninitiated, Bubly is PepsiCo’s play in sparkling water. Think LaCroix but with Michael Bublé puns. Their launch ad was epic - the perfect celebrity endorsement that’s both hilarious and memorable.

The branding is safe, bright and friendly. A few fans even created a subreddit: r/Bubly. For years, it was quiet. The occasional fridge pic. A passionate debate about pineapple vs. blackberry.

Then something strange happened. This was the post that kicked it off.

It was the kind of post that should’ve gone unnoticed. But Reddit’s algorithm picked it up and threw it onto the Popular page.

Within days, thousands of confused users were clicking into r/Bubly. Some to laugh. Some to ask why the hell it was in their feed. Others stuck around just to watch.

And that’s when things got truly weird.

A cult is born.

As Reddit newcomers flooded in, the OG members of r/Bubly did the only logical thing:
They acted like they were in a cult.

New users were met with eerie welcomes. Michael Bublé, the brand’s celebrity ambassador, was transformed into a kind of high priest.

There were fake rituals. Nonsense backstories. Posts written in cryptic prose. People confessed their love for lime. Others asked for forgiveness for drinking LaCroix.

And the best part? Everyone was in on the joke.

The subreddit became a performance - a parody of corporate brand fandom taken to surreal extremes. Members created inside jokes at lightning speed. The subreddit banner changed to bizarre Photoshop edits. Moderators posted fake updates about “Bubly’s growth accelerating beyond prediction.”

At one point, r/Bubly had over 40,000 subscribers.

To be clear, most of these people did not care about the product. Some had never even tried it. Many described it as mid-tier at best. But that wasn’t the point. The cult of Bubly wasn’t about the beverage. It was about the chaos.

So what’s PepsiCo doing about it?

First up, there’s a conspiracy theory that the popularity of the page was driven by PepsiCo, sponsoring posts and pushing it into feeds.

This is a concept called astroturfing - commonly used in politics but has it’s place in the commercial world.

Astroturfing is what happens when a brand tries to manufacture what looks like genuine grassroots enthusiasm - but it’s all fake. Think planted Reddit threads, influencer posts that conveniently forget to disclose payment, or a “fan community” that’s actually been built by the brand’s agency behind the scenes.

It’s corporate PR dressed up to look like organic love. And it almost always backfires, because people can sniff out inauthenticity faster than ever.

The way the content has evolved in this space is almost certainly not PepsiCo - it’s simply too weird.

So PepsiCo’s response to it all? Absolutely nothing.

It’s almost hard to believe. Especially in a world where brands are desperate to insert themselves into every trend, meme, or viral moment. But the r/Bubly community thrived precisely because the brand stayed out of it.

There was no corporate tone policing the jokes. No awkward engagement farming. No glossy sponsored posts trying to capitalise on the fun. Which meant the community felt real. Weird, but real.

Why does this work?

There’s a lesson here. Not in how to create a cult following, but in understanding why they sometimes happen.

1. Algorithmic absurdity

This whole thing started because one post hit Reddit’s algorithm at the right moment. That randomness can’t be planned- but when it hits, it snowballs. Confusion becomes curiosity. Curiosity becomes community.

2. Parody > Promotion

The subreddit is essentially a long-running parody of brand worship. And people love it. It’s fun to pretend sparkling water is a religion. It’s funnier when it’s a mid-tier one from Pepsi.

3. Belonging without baggage

Joining r/Bubly doesn’t require you to buy anything. There’s no signup. No expectation. You’re just joining a weird internet joke with a few thousand other people who get it. And that makes it feel like a club.

4. The illusion of danger

There’s something deliciously off-brand about a wholesome sparkling water spawning a quasi-cult. It feels like something you shouldn’t be a part of - which makes it more fun to join.

The brand is the excuse, not the point.

One of the most fascinating things about the Bubly cult is that it reveals a bigger truth:

They just need a shared joke, a sense of belonging, and a platform to play on.

It’s kinda humbling. No amount of strategic positioning or “community-led brand building” could’ve engineered what happened here. PepsiCo didn’t spark it. And if they tried to now, they’d probably ruin it.

This is marketing as folklore. Consumerism turned improv. The kind of brand love that’s too strange to scale - but too brilliant to ignore.

Let the weird happen.

You can’t force this.
But you can recognise it when it starts to happen - and know when to leave it alone.

The Bubly subreddit is a strange corner of the internet. It’s chaotic, cultish, oddly wholesome, and completely off-script.

And that might be why it’s the best brand-building PepsiCo never did.

Do you know anyone at PepsiCo? Would love to get their take on this.

And if you enjoyed this odd story, send it to your cousin. Might be a nice way to reconnect.