05/20/08 Crude Ad

The newest Brita Water Filter ad is disturbing on many levels. I know that "shock" media gets attention, but with this ad the focus is more on the sexual innuendo than the point they were trying to get across on bottled water versus filtered tap water. And will it actually help Brita to achieve its goal? Perhaps. Reportedly, last year 16 million gallons of oil were consumed to make plastic water bottles; hence the resulting "crude" ad. I guess pushing the actual benefits of their filters and the wastefulness of one-use items wasn't getting them very far. Sadly, I am probably in the minority when it comes to being offended by this advertisement. In today's world where sex sells everything from toothpaste to can openers I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but it's definitely easier to explain the couple in the toothpaste ad mutually enjoying their new "fresh" breath than it is to explain the slang sexual connotation in the Brita Water Filter ad. Oh, for the good old days when you could watch TV or look at a magazine with your kids in the same room without a set of emergency blinders or earplugs nearby!