Today’s Oregonian reports the less than surprising news that Americans are questioning the need for bottled water as the economic downturn prompts people to search for ways to reduce their spending. The article suggests that economic forces are now achieving what environmentalists have long struggled to do: changing how we consume water and reducing our dependence on an environmentally damaging product. While the article provides anecdotal evidence of people shifting from bottled water to tap water, it also notes statistics from a trade publication indicating that the bottled water market continued to grow in the U.S. last year, but more slowly than it had in recent years.

A passing mention in the article of a company that launched an advertising campaign to promote tap water as a better choice than bottled water led me to dig deeper. What kind of company is trying to make a profit by promoting tap water?

That company is the Tappening Project. Its homepage is dominated by a blog featuring posts you might expect to see from an environmental organization, such as news of a city banning bottle water from government offices and a report on the true cost of bottled water. It also features a tool to send a friend a message stating that you are switching to tap water. You will also notice an image of bottles that that company sells, which display the slogan, “Think Global. Drink Local.”

While you can’t miss the fact that you can buy these reusable bottles from Tappening, they don’t dominate the site. Instead, the company gives the impression that it is primarily in the business of educating people about the benefits of tap water and countering the hype of the bottled water industry. It provides a page full of quick facts about bottled water, including these:

• 96% of bottled water is sold in single-size polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles, which end up in city trash cans rather than recycling bins. The national recycling rate for all PET bottles, including soda bottles, is 23.1 percent.
• About 4 billion PET bottles end up in the waste stream, costing cities around 70 million dollars a year in cleanup and landfill costs.
• Making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil in 2006, enough fuel for more than 1 million United States cars for a year, and generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.
• If you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 dollars annually! The same amount of tap water would cost around 49 cents.

If it seems like the Tappening Project is falling into the laundry list trap that Joe wrote about with George Lakoff, don’t be too worried. The company was founded by two marketing professionals, who are well-aware that people do not make decisions solely by rational analysis of the available evidence.

In May, they launched an advertising campaign that features provocative and memorable images of a disposable water bottle. One image (shown here), depicts a water bottle with a $100 bill as its label, and features small print stating, “Bottled water costs 7,000 times more than the same water that comes from a faucet.” Another ad spotlights the environmental costs of disposable plastic water bottles, and shows a dead fish floating inside one such bottle. None of the ads mention that Tappening sells reusable water bottles, though they do provide a link to its website.

An interview with the company’s founders, which can be seen on ABC News’ website, gives a greater understanding of the thinking behind the campaign. One of the founders explains that bottled water companies have prospered by selling an image of what it means to consume their products. To drink one brand of bottled water may express the consumer’s sophistication, while another brand may communicate an active, sporty lifestyle.

The Tappening Project didn’t ignore the marketing of water to express identity when they introduced their reusable water bottles. Instead, they chose to position tap water as the natural choice of the savvy person who sees through the hype of the bottled water industry. Purchasing a stainless steel water bottle for $18.95 from the Tappening Project therefore may be seen as a way to pass on to others the messages that tap water is the smart choice and that the user is the kind of person who isn’t succumbing to the industry’s line.

By all indications, they are succeeding. Since launching their effort in November, they have reportedly sold more than 200,000 bottles through an initiative that makes education and changing attitudes top priorities.

Evan

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