- Chad Michael Murray is starring in bubly sparkling water's Y2K-themed summer campaign, promoting the brand's limited-edition Melted Ice Pop flavor: a cherry, lime, and raspberry blend with no calories or sweeteners.
- The campaign features a nostalgic rom-com-style social video co-starring '00s creator and podcast host Erin Miller, set to The All-American Rejects' 2005 hit "Dirty Little Secret," and leaning fully into millennial first-crush energy.
- A limited-edition bubly Melted Ice Pop Y2K Summer Kit, priced at $20 and available exclusively at Walmart.com, includes a digitally signed Chad Michael Murray poster, charm anklet, an 8-pack of the flavor, an inflatable cooler, a beach towel, a tote, and more.
- This is Murray's first known brand partnership with bubly, marking a strategic shift for the PepsiCo-owned brand toward millennial nostalgia-driven celebrity marketing.
Bubly sparkling water is tapping into peak millennial nostalgia this summer by partnering with actor Chad Michael Murray for a Y2K-inspired campaign built around its limited-edition Melted Ice Pop sparkling water.
The deal pairs the One Tree Hill heartthrob with ’00s creator and podcast host Erin Miller in a rom-com style social video that is equal parts summer daydream and savvy brand play.
Inspired by the nostalgic taste of Bubly Melted Ice Pop and set to “Dirty Little Secret” by The All-American Rejects, the content transports Miller into a playful rom-com daydream filled with nods to Murray’s most memorable moments and the kind of summer-crush energy millennials remember all too well.
The casting is timely. Murray currently stars as Cal Jones in the drama series Sullivan’s Crossing and recently reprised his role as Jake in Disney’s Freakier Friday (2025), giving him renewed visibility with both longtime fans and a newer generation.
This is the kind of multi-generational reach that makes him a compelling brand vehicle, a point beverage brands have clearly taken note of, similar to how Lucien Laviscount’s recent Schweppes Cherry Pepper campaign leaned on a rising TV star to move product.
The Melted Ice Pop flavor is available in 8-packs of 12-ounce cans nationwide while supplies last. The limited-edition Y2K Summer Kit is exclusively on Walmart.com for $20 while supplies last.
Bubly’s playbook here isn’t unlike what Becky G and Alani Nu pulled off with their Purple Cotton Candy energy drink: marry a culturally resonant celebrity to a limited-edition flavor drop and create urgency around the product.
Takeaways
The Bubly x Chad Michael Murray collab is a masterclass in nostalgia marketing done right. Rather than simply slapping a celebrity’s face on a can, Bubly built an entire content ecosystem (a Y2K video, a limited product drop, and a curated retail kit), all anchored to a specific emotional moment in millennial life. It’s smart, specific, and shoppable.
For brands trying to move product in a crowded beverage market, this is the template: sell the feeling, not just the flavor.
Does leaning on millennial nostalgia signal that Bubly is doubling down on a core demographic rather than chasing Gen Z, and is that the right long-term play? Could this campaign’s success push other beverage brands to recruit 2000s TV stars for limited-edition summer drops?
