In other words, the branding is one of the main selling points

Basically

There is a How I Built This podcast that interviews the founder. He was in marketing/advertising as a creative his entire career before he started the company. Actually, he didn’t even have enough money to make the first batch, so he created a video and Facebook page that went viral and got him enough interest and actual orders to prove to investors that they should fund him.

I work as a bartender in a live music venue in the Netherlands.

We, just like most festivals, used to always remove the caps from the water bottles, citing safety concerns (people would drop the bottle when empty but put the cap on, which is a nasty tripping hazard).

So a company started to make bottlecaps that clip to your pants, and most water vendors used a single size opening, which made this feasible. People held on to their cap, and could pause drinking.

Then water companies started to attach the cap to the bottle, to prevent litter, and the government issuing a mandate requiring us to charge per plastic unit.

So now we leave the caps on, but as guests return about 95% of bottles and cups to the bar (buying a drink without having a cup adds a 1 eur plastic surcharge), the safety hazard is basically gone.

As a bartender, I'd very much prefer bottles of water to cans. It allows guests to drink at their leasure, they're easier to transport and can't cause as much harm as a can (either by throwing or when squeezing it).

They are slightly visually less appealing than a cool can though, I'll give them that.

If you know you're going to a festival why not bring your own reusable bottle of water and use the cans to top it up?

Or because it's the only water available at most concerts.

I just want portable water not in a plastic container. Also they're like a buck fifty.

Liquid death is legit the best carbonated water though, the texture is more like beer rather than pop

Yeah, I've only ever seen this brand when it was the only option to get water, in a place where I wasn't allowed to bring my own water ಠ_ಠ

Where I am it's about twice the price of other sparkling water. Live your life however you love but that's the reason.

Are people here mad that consumers like to buy something with fun marketing?

Judging by some of the comments here and Lemmy in general. Yes.

Although I think a lot of that, has to do with its popularity more than anything else.

Glad Im not the only one who went "Wait, it's just fucking water?!"

Apparently their market is recovering alcoholics that want to feel like they're holding a beer can when they're out with friends.

I bought some on sale once because it was cheaper than normal bubble water. I laughed every time I drank one and my wife refused to be seen with them. "Darling, don't you need to murder your thirst?!" It was the best sale purchase I've made at the grocery store in recent memory.

If I'm going to a party but not planning to drink, I'll always get some nonalcoholic drinks with me. If I can have a cool looking can or bottle, it's better. In general I get very much pleasure from uniquely designed drink containers

Bottles like these while being metal still contain a very thin plastic layer. But still a step in the right direction

It’s only a dollar here

for... water.

That's not how thermodynamics work. It's either transferring heat more efficiently, or not. But always the same, in both directions.