• by Steve Ellwanger , May 18, 2023

Austrian hydration brand Waterdrop is taking an “absurd” approach to launching its dissolvable drink cubes to the U.S. market at a time when Propel and Splenda are also expanding their water options for flavored water, with tablets and flavored liquid pods.

Founded in Vienna in 2016 as a D2C brand, Waterdrop’s first U.S. campaign casts sugar and single-use plastic bottles as villains in an extension of its overseas market positioning.

“We’ve always said that it’s ridiculous putting sugary water into a plastic bottle and shipping it for the world,” co-founder and CMO Henry Murray tells Marketing Daily. “We thought, it’s a good idea to go a bit over the line, visualize that and make it absurd.”

That approach manifests in a dystopian world overrun by “SugarPlastic” in which humans trapped in soda-filled bottles go about their daily routines. The creative was done in-house, in collaboration with the Jung Von Matt agency

“This is the story about a world cursed with SugarPlastic,” says the voiceover—going on to blame an industry for “turning good water into something, well, different: sugary, sweet and addictive. And so plasticky that you couldn’t get rid of it.”

Waterdrop’s dissolvable, sugar-free cubes are posed as a solution “to free yourself from SugarPlastic.”

They are available on the company’s website, in some 2,000 Walmart stores and Target locations in California and New York.

Meanwhile, Gatorade’s Propel Fitness Water has launched a tablet format to complement its liquid and powdered drinks lineup.

The introduction is being supported by a campaign featuring actor and director Michael B. Jordan.

In this “Support Your Journey” spot from Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Jordan is seen running through urban streets dodging various obstacles.

This week, Heartland Food Products Group announced that Splenda—the #1 low-calorie sweetener—is expanding into the drink-mix category with Peel & Pour Drink Mix pods.

They are positioned as an easy way to make two quarts of flavored water that can be shared at various summer gatherings.