Don't Think I Want a Brita Water Filter
Last night, I saw the oddest commercial for Brita Water Filters. I can only assume the ad execs were drunk or smoking crack when they came up with this idea.
There's a glass of water on the table and you can hear a toilet flushing. As the toilet flushes, the water level in the glass goes down and comes back up as the toilet finishes flushing. Then a woman comes out of the bathroom and drinks from the glass.
Brita then tells us that toilet water and tap water come from the same place...so we should use their filters.
What the heck? That's gross, especially the way they laid it out. Of course, I know that we aren't actually drinking USED toilet water, but they made it seem like that. And if that's the case, forget the Brita Water Filer, I think I'll go for bottled spring water.
Crazy corporate advertising!
There's a glass of water on the table and you can hear a toilet flushing. As the toilet flushes, the water level in the glass goes down and comes back up as the toilet finishes flushing. Then a woman comes out of the bathroom and drinks from the glass.
Brita then tells us that toilet water and tap water come from the same place...so we should use their filters.
What the heck? That's gross, especially the way they laid it out. Of course, I know that we aren't actually drinking USED toilet water, but they made it seem like that. And if that's the case, forget the Brita Water Filer, I think I'll go for bottled spring water.
Crazy corporate advertising!
19 Comments:
Now that is just plain nasty and makes me glad I drink bottled water. lol
Haha, I have seen that commercial too and eww is right. I think that they need a new marketing manager rofl. I do use a Brita though (cheaper than bottled lol) but geesh.....
Robyn
www.thetweenyears.com
LOL! That's too funny and I'm thankful for my big ole Ice Mountain 5 Gallon bottle! :-0
Oh my Philena...maybe the water was tranfering from your toilet to your sink! Ha ha!
Better think again about feeling good about drinking bottled water:
"The breaking news on bottled water suggests that it might not be the tall cool drink that ecofriendly, health-conscious consumers seek. Plastic bottles are piling up in landfills as billions of gallons of fossil fuels are used to ship the stuff worldwide...."
and
"Less attention has been paid to another effect of branded water: It advances a corporate agenda to privatize public drinking supplies. "Bottled water is getting people into the habit of paying an awful lot more for their drinking water," says Tony Clarke, author of "Inside the Bottle" (www.insidethebottle.org), a book-length expose of the industry published in 2005 by Canada's Polaris Institute and cited in Canadian Dimension (Jan./Feb. 2006). As much, in fact, as 10,000 times what they pay for tap water."
(from http://www.utne.com/pub/2006_135/promo/12068-1.html)
Yep...I agree anonymous, but the point was the Brita people have it ALL wrong.
well if we are using our good drinking water to flush the toilets then maybe that is our problem. Canada is fortunate to have some of the best quality water in the world, I'm pretty sure if you really thought about it, Brita wasn't telling you that you will have the same quality drinking water from the toilet if you use THEIR filter, I think they meant that if we use their filter then we won't be drinking the water from the toilet. Nonetheless, it still distracts from the fact that in North America our quality of drinking water from the tap (even before using the brita filter) is much better than the majority of other regions worldwide...so maybe we should be questioning the quality of our toilet water???
lindsay anne,
But as Alice said, when the toilet flushed, the water left the glass and when the water filled the toilet, it also came back into the glass AND THEN the lady came out and DRANK IT! The implication would seem to be that Brita is SO GOOD that you can even DRINK Brita's toilet water and ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE! Cheers and Ovation! Potty Water Quenches Your Thirst!
UMMmmmmmmmmmm! YUMMY !
The lady drinking it,
must be a slut ! LOL !
thanks to brita mt autistic son wont even look at water. thank you briat i think i will dehydrate with him.
That Brita commercial infuriates me. The fact is tap water is more strictly regulated, more closely monitored, tested, and is often of the same or HIGHER quality than bottled water, which falls under the food and drug administration in the US and the equivalent in Canada. Their blatant slam campain only works on the uneducated public who, for the most part, already takes their water supply for granted way too much.
BRITA water and toilet water come from the same source.
Mark Swanton
I used to work for the water company in the UK and we do water tests every week. We even tested the popular brand volvic, just for fun one week and it contained unsafe levels of the toxin arsenic.
Plus it is said that drinking from water contained in bottles for many months poisons the water with plastic toxins which lead to cancer. The only thing anyone has to be concerned about when it comes to tap water, is chlorine which evaporates after 2 hours in the fridge, or you can boil it away.
So stop the panic or you will fill your body with free radicals from stress.
Thanks for the comments, Mark. In all fairness, I don't think anyone is panicked...we're just commenting on the silly marketing Brita using to convince us that we should drink Brita filtered water.
But, you're insight is very interesting and we really do need to look at what we're drinking, don't we?
I complained to Brita about this ad. They wrote me a cut-and-paste response that reads as follows:
________________________
I'm writing you to follow-up on your recent e-mail regarding the new Brita Facet Filtration System advertising campaign. Thank you for taking the time to voice your opinion. We sincerely regret you found our television ad objectionable.
Clorox Company of Canada is always trying to create communications messages that are impactful and set us apart from our competition. Our current marketing campaign for Brita Facet Filtration System is meant to convey the benefits of using our product. Brita Faucet Filtration system eliminates 98 per cent of lead, chlorine (taste and odor) and sediment from water, making it better water for consumption.
The ads are based on factual information and are depicted in a compelling way to demonstrate that all the water in your home is all connected through the same pipes. The water from your tap comes from the same place as the water in your toilet. We believe you deserve better water for consumption. The advertising¿s compelling imagery is meant to provoke people to think about the water they consume. In no way did Clorox Company of Canada intend for these ads to upset or offend anyone.
Clorox Company of Canada has always valued the thoughts and beliefs of our customers and potential customers and will continue to do so. If you would like to discuss the matter further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Again, thank you for contacting us.
_______________________
I wrote back and said to them:
Dear Lee,
Thank you for your response to my inquiry.
Your ad shows a woman flushing the toilet, at which time the water in her drinking glass also flushes. She then comes out to drink her water (and by the way she didn't wash her hands, which is certainly more of a health hazard than drinking municipal water). She then drinks out of the "flushed" glass, visually indicating that drinking municipal water is akin to drinking out of the toilet.
I noticed today that you've changed the ad again, reminding everyone to change their filters regularly. Oops, you're right, I understand that Brita filters can become quite a health hazard if you don't.
Since you appreciate "facts" and "provocative compelling imagery" I hope you enjoy the ad I've made up for you. It filters out 98% of marketing bullshit, making it better for public consumption.
_______________________
I then attached a picture which you can view by going to http://www.provici.com/brita.jpg
Hmmm, do you think they'll write back!?
Oh Lee...that's priceless. I had to post that as update to this blog entry. If you'd like a link to your website in my mention, let me know.
Thanks but no need to give me another link. You might be interested in this link to a website with letters from water industry sources who are trying to stop Brita's campaign. The letters back from Brita are especially interesting and point to a corporate culture that seems to me not terribly concerned about responsibility.
http://www.cwwa.ca/brita_e.asp#letters
I remember when the concept of buying water or filters was just plain weird, one of those weird "in the future" scenarios that unbelievably came true (along with global warming).
When we were kids the water used to be clean enough to drink out of the streams we used to come across while out riding our bikes (and I'm not THAT old). Now I won't even swim in the lakes of Muskoka, which are supposed to be clean, or where until even a few years ago.
What is scariest to me is that people have become so accustomed to buying and filtering water, that it seems normal now.
Not even thinking about the garbage of all of the plastic and health hazards of plastic leaching into the water - but I digress.
I think that the commercial that stands out in my mind as disgusting is the one for the toilet bowl cleaner and it shows a little girl sniffing the toilet. That one has stuck with me! I can't believe that they did it.
I personally use a filter that attaches to my tap, although it isn't Brita, it's Pure brand. I really like it.
On the subject of "that" commercial, it is really misleading and suggestive, the crap in the water isn't from drinking "from" the toilet, it's from dumping our toilets in the water, how smart is that.
Buying a water filter isn't even touching on the problem - how about looking at corporate pollution, chemical spills and all that stuff - they could show someone drinking out of a tap beside one of the large chemical plants scattered around the continent, the toilet is clean in comparison - don't get me started :0)
The commercial may provoke some, but it does address the fact that we take safe and clean water for granite. Water is drawn into the water system from many different sources, some cleaner than others. Water is purified to the water authority’s standards and while they strive to maintain quality, failures happen. Then the water travels through a series of piping of different materials such as plastic (leaching) or iron (rust). If a break or undetected leak occurs in the line, guess what? Then you have the many homes & businesses connected to the system. Think "backflow". You cannot imagine the pollutants and contaminates that enter the water supply after it leaves the plant. I see this time and time again. I once did a call on a job where the plumbing system in the building was being corroded by the water. Turns out a heavy duty water fed caustic pumping unit was forcing chemicals back into the water system. I found this when I received a call to check on a drinking fountain that no one could seem to repair properly. They repaired it; it was just being re-contaminated and corroding the replaced parts. There are many such stories, and some where people have died. Some places in world warn not to drink the water from the tap. As we become more densely populated and increase the number of openings from the mains, we increase the number of possible contamination sources. Any opening that provides water can under the right circumstances contaminate. Building Officials and Water Purveyors try to prevent these scenarios, but it is impossible for them to see it all. You also need to be proactive. I personally buy bottled water, and yes I know the arguments against that. I just know that I will not drink water out of the tap without it being filtered. Brita had it right, if the sight of that commercial bothered you, they succeeded. I actually remember and liked the commercial, but then again, I know what is in the water.
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