A Facebook group for lovers of cured cucumbers has gained more fans the knuckle-dragging Canadian crew. It's like Rage Against the Machine and Joe McElderry all over again

Canadian band Nickelback, the gravelly paragon of what's known as "modern rock", are in a Facebook popularity contest with a deli delicacy. And they're losing.

At the time of writing, 1,420,995 lanky-haired rock fans have declared their love for Nickelback by subscribing to the band's official Facebook page. Meanwhile, a coalition of 1,471,001 Nickelback haters (and lovers of cured cucumbers) have joined a group called, "Can this pickle get more fans than Nickleback [sic]?" And they are ahead by about 50,000.

"WE DID IT!" exclaimed Coral Anne, the pickle campaign's chief organiser, earlier this week. "Salute the almighty pickle!" Coral Anne, who is also a fan of Nine Inch Nails, Salvador Dali and "meowing back at a cat when it meows at you", launched the page less than a month ago. Forced by Facebook's policies to misspell Nickelback's name in the group description, Coral Anne's project was inspired by a different, less successful initiative – to find Facebook users who preferred onion rings to pop-singer Justin Bieber.

"This is all strictly intended for humour," Coral Anne explained. "I am not using this page to endorse any hate toward the band Nickelback ... I do not wish Nickelback, or any other bands, any ill will and hope they would see the same humour in making this page as I have."

While Nickelback have yet to issue an official response, frontman Chad Kroeger has reportedly sent a terse notice to the pickle-backers. According to a screenshot posted by the Daily Swarm, Kroeger wrote: "Your page will be closing in two weeks." Coral Anne's triumphant response? "I still whooped your ass, Chad! :)"

Nickelback have sold more than 30m albums to date. Their last LP, 2008's Dark Horse, reached No 4 in the UK charts.

Pickles are enjoyed by many cultures around the world.