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"There's been a major public relations
campaign launched to convince the people that bottled water is safer, and better,
and purer than tap water; what our study found is: it ain't necessarily so."
So begins our story about America's second-most popular beverage: bottled
water (#1 is still soda). Bottled water claims to be the healthy alternative — but
is it really worth paying 1,000 times more than for tap? And how did tap
water get such a bad rap?
In this story we look at the myths and realities of the bottled water industry.
How much is hype, and how much not? Might tap water use the techniques of bottled
water to rescue its embattled image?
Besides, image is everything these days. Not even bottled
water ads are about how healthy and pure
it is... Now it's all about
lifestyle. Just check out ads for Coca Cola's Dasani (with Pepsi's
Aquafina not far behind).
So how about a lifestyle campaign for tap water...
We decided to launch a test campaign in New York City. Because, despite what
rumors tell you, New York has one of the most pristine and protected water
sources in the country, if not the world. It's even finalized in international
taste tests (why do you think the pizza tastes so good?). And yet New Yorkers,
like the rest of the country, increasingly spurn their faucet for the bottle.
Armed with our new campaign and sticker labels, we hit the streets. Watch
and listen to
find out what happened.
We want to hear your thoughts on the issues. Is your tap water as good as bottled water? Is bottled water worth the price? Share your story with us, and see what others have to say.
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There are 350 different water bottle labels in France alone. How many water bottle
labels are there in the world? "Fifty to a hundred thousand," says New York-based
artist Nancy Drew. She studied hundreds of the
labels from different countries, then chose her favorites as subjects for
her paintings, entitled, "The Water Series." "After a while, it
became like a multicultural study of graphic artists," she says. "All of
them are portraying the same thing, water, but each culture has their own
way of seeing
it."
QUIZ: Study the following seven paintings of water bottle labels. Then match each label to the country it's from. |
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NYC
Tap Water." He hits the streets to ask New Yorkers to refill their water
bottles with tap water. Will it work? Or will fear of the faucet prevail?
How far
will people go for a free sticker? [9:23 minutes]