SodaStream's SodaSoak campaign spoofed infomercial culture with a fictional bath-carbonation device, starring celebrity talent and generating millions in brand
ARCHIVESodaStream SodaSoak Turns April Fools Into a Sparkling Brand Moment
SodaSoak is a 2018 April Fools parody campaign by SodaStream in which the brand produced a fictional infomercial for a bath-carbonation accessory, driving earned media attention across the United States through celebrity talent, retail partner integration, and a dedicated spoof website.
Released publicly on March 30, 2018 and activated on April 1, 2018, the campaign centred on a single film asset produced by Bluewater Media. The concept was straightforward in its absurdity: SodaStream, a brand known for carbonating drinking water, invited consumers to imagine carbonating their bathwater instead. The fictional device was named SodaSoak, and the campaign committed entirely to the infomercial format — complete with enthusiastic presenters, product demonstrations, and an outlandish promotional offer. The campaign concept was developed with Allenby Concept House, per prnewswire.com.
The campaign's mechanics extended beyond the film itself. A dedicated website, GetSodaSoak.com, was launched to capture consumer curiosity, and a 98 percent discount joke tied to retail partner Bed Bath & Beyond deepened the comedic premise, according to prnewswire.com. Shopping network QVC also featured in the retail-partner integration, lending the stunt an additional layer of deadpan authenticity. A German-language version was scheduled for international rollout on the same April 1 date, demonstrating that the campaign's ambitions reached beyond the United States market, as covered by Horizont At. In the United States, SodaSoak landed on major April Fools round-up lists across digital media, and Adweek reported the video generated what the brand described as many millions in equivalent brand exposure. The Clapboard Score for SodaSoak is 63 out of 100.
SodaStream entered 2018 operating in one of the fastest-growing beverage segments in the United States. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, as reported by bevnet.com, US consumers were on track to purchase 821 million gallons of sparkling water in 2018 — approximately three times the volume recorded in 2008, implying a compound annual growth rate of roughly 11.6 percent over that decade. US consumers had already spent approximately $2.2 billion on carbonated water in 2017, according to reuters.com, with shelf space contested by brands including LaCroix, Bai Bubbles, Dasani Sparkling, and Spindrift.
Within this crowded market, SodaStream's strategic position was distinctive: the brand sold the means of production rather than the product itself. Competitors such as LaCroix and Spindrift competed on flavour identity and packaging; SodaStream competed on the promise of domestic self-sufficiency and reduced plastic waste. SodaSoak did not attempt to advance that environmental argument directly. Instead, it signalled a deliberate tonal shift in the brand's advertising posture. Per pollackgroup.com, the campaign represented a move away from the confrontational advertising style SodaStream had pursued in earlier years — including environmentally charged work developed with collaborator Alex Bogusky beginning around 2012, and Super Bowl appearances featuring Scarlett Johansson in 2013 and 2014, as documented by En Wikipedia.
By 2018, SodaStream was preparing for a significant corporate transition. PepsiCo agreed to acquire the brand for approximately $3.2 billion that same year, according to sodastream.it. SodaSoak, in this context, reads as a brand-building exercise designed to generate mass awareness and cultural relevance at a moment when the company's profile was under unusual commercial scrutiny across the United States.
SodaSoak committed fully to the infomercial vernacular it was parodying. The campaign's single film asset, produced by Bluewater Media and directed by Andy Latimer, deployed every visual and structural convention of late-night television commerce — product close-ups, testimonial segments, dramatic before-and-after framing, and a presenter dynamic calibrated for maximum sincerity. The creative director was Alon Seifert, with concept development attributed to the Allenby Concept House team, per prnewswire.com.
The casting choices amplified the joke considerably. Reza Farahan, known to US audiences from the Bravo reality series Shahs of Sunset, and Thor Björnsson, widely recognised as The Mountain from Game of Thrones, appeared as the campaign's on-screen talent, according to prnewswire.com. The pairing was deliberate — Farahan brought aspirational lifestyle associations while Björnsson contributed sheer physical spectacle, each reinforcing the absurdity of a carbonated bath as a premium wellness proposition. Both talent profiles were sufficiently recognisable to drive social sharing without requiring additional explanation.
The production team assembled for SodaSoak was comprehensive in scope. Director of photography Rob Fallon handled the visual execution, with editing by Brad Lulas and special effects and animation by Ricky Turner. Art department responsibilities fell to John-Michael Marlowe. Camera operators Nolan Heasley and Jake White covered multiple angles, with Morgan Shane managing camera dolly work. Audio was handled by Brian Morgan, still photography by Michael Ramos, and makeup by Jody Welch. Wardrobe was designed by Simone Smith, and talent recruitment was managed by Amy Howell. Producer Justin Vilardi oversaw the full production, per clapboard.com and pollackgroup.com. The depth of the crew for a single comedic film asset underscores how seriously SodaStream invested in the craft of the joke itself.
ARCHIVESodaSoak generated meaningful earned media in the United States by the metric that matters most for April Fools advertising: inclusion on major round-up lists and sustained press coverage beyond the activation date. Adweek reported that the campaign produced what SodaStream characterised as many millions in equivalent brand exposure — a qualitative claim, but one attributed to a credible trade publication with direct knowledge of the brand's reporting. Horizont Austria covered the campaign independently, per horizont.at, confirming that the stunt achieved cross-market press traction consistent with SodaStream's international rollout ambitions.
The structural mechanics of SodaSoak were engineered for shareability. The 98 percent discount joke anchored to Bed Bath & Beyond gave journalists and social accounts a concrete, verifiable hook to write around — a device that converts passive viewers into active amplifiers. The GetSodaSoak.com microsite extended dwell time and created a second point of consumer contact beyond the film itself. The retail integrations with Bed Bath & Beyond and QVC provided legitimate news angles that blurred the line between stunt and announcement, sustaining coverage across news cycles that typically move on quickly from April Fools content, according to prnewswire.com.
No verified third-party performance data — including specific view counts, website traffic figures, or social engagement metrics — for SodaSoak is publicly available beyond the earned media characterisations noted above. The Clapboard Score of 63 out of 100 reflects a campaign that executes its comedic premise with confidence and production polish but whose measurable impact remains partially opaque in the public record.
SodaSoak is a 2018 April Fools parody infomercial by SodaStream for a fictional bath-carbonation device. Released in the United States on March 30, 2018 and activated April 1, the campaign was produced by Bluewater Media and featured celebrity talent Reza Farahan and Thor Björnsson, according to prnewswire.com.
Andy Latimer directed the SodaSoak film for SodaStream. The production was carried out by Bluewater Media, with Alon Seifert serving as creative director and Justin Vilardi as producer, per clapboard.com and pollackgroup.com. Director of photography Rob Fallon led the visual execution on set.
Reza Farahan of Bravo's Shahs of Sunset and Thor Björnsson of Game of Thrones appear in SodaSoak. The pairing was intentional, combining aspirational lifestyle associations with physical spectacle to heighten the absurdity of carbonated bathwater as a wellness product, according to prnewswire.com.
SodaSoak integrated Bed Bath & Beyond and QVC as retail partners. A 98 percent discount joke tied to Bed Bath & Beyond and a dedicated microsite, GetSodaSoak.com, extended the stunt's reach and gave press outlets concrete hooks to report on, according to prnewswire.com.
Adweek reported SodaSoak generated many millions in equivalent brand exposure for SodaStream. The campaign appeared on major April Fools round-up lists in the United States and received international press coverage, including from Horizont Austria per horizont.at. No verified third-party engagement metrics are publicly available beyond these characterisations.
SodaSoak marked a tonal shift for SodaStream away from confrontational environmental messaging, per pollackgroup.com. Earlier campaigns featured collaborator Alex Bogusky and Scarlett Johansson in Super Bowl spots. SodaSoak launched the same year PepsiCo agreed to acquire SodaStream for approximately $3.2 billion, according to sodastream.it.
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