The anti-bottled-water project known as Tappening has unveiled a campaign in which it tells lies about bottled water in order to illuminate the supposed dishonesty in the category's marketing and make a case for drinking tap water instead. If you had trouble following that last sentence, don't bother with the campaign, because it's even more confusing. Basically, Tappening makes outrageous negative claims about bottled water (at one point saying it's "2% polar bear tears"), then admits it's lying, which is supposed to somehow cast tap water in a favorable light. Whaaa? The whole premise is self-defeating. If you're going to use ads to make your case, it's unwise to point out that ads sometimes lie. What's worse, they offer no real reason to favor tap water. The folks at ad agency DiMassimo Goldstein should steer clear of the kitchen faucet—that swill has clearly rotted away their ability to think clearly and express themselves in a coherent manner.
—Posted by David Gianatasio
