Those home shopping network hosts can hawk most anything, making it somehow seem inviting, particularly to the impulse buyer, if that breed of animal does indeed exist during these tough economic times.
However, this spoof of a QVC-like pitch instead plays to a positive charitable impulse. And it does so by trying to sell a most disgusting product–untreated African well water.
The QVC-style product info running along one side of the TV screen heralds the H20 as “12 ounces of parasite-filled refreshment.” And the price point has been lowered to $1, with a pay plan of four installments of 25 cents apiece.
The ShopTV bonus is a 10-day dysentery guarantee. Sadly, though, there’s plenty of this product available–900 million items are in the ShopTV inventory.
Introducing the segment, one hostess says, “This next piece is to die for.”
The other chimes in, “Well millions already have.”
“It is a glass of water scooped straight from a well in Kenya,” cheerily declares the first hostess.
“Just look at this filth,” relates her colleague.
Our smiling female hosts extol the “virtues” of this sales item–holding up the glass of muddy water, from which they extract some filthy debris.
“You can’t get this in America,” touts the first gal.
Her co-hostess notes, “I took two sips of this–talk about a colonic..”
Then they gab about the product’s “versatility,” meaning that you can bathe in it, wash your clothes in it and then “hello, you can drink it.”
A final sales point: “It will never lose that stench or color. You must try this.”
A voiceover then puts this home shopping parody into poignant perspective: “Nearly 900 million people in the world don’t have a choice. Donate to UNICEF’s Tap Project.”
The website address www.TapProject.org then appears on screen.
Denver initiative
This spot is part of a campaign for the Denver Tap Project initiative which is a regional leg to the overall UNICEF movement to help some 900 million people around the world who have little or no access to safe drinking water.
The Tap Project is based on a simple concept: during the recent World Water Week, restaurants asked their patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually get for free, and all funds raised go towards supporting UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean, accessible water to millions of children around the world. According to Stevan Miller, director of corporate partnerships at UNICEF, “This is the biggest project for UNICEF in 56 years.”
Titled “QVC,” this PSA was conceptualized by a core team from Sukle Advertising + Design, Denver, consisting of creative director Mike Sukle, art director Andy Dutlinger, copywriter Zac Spector and broadcast producer Michon Schmidt.
Tom Evans of Walk The Line Films, Denver, directed “QVC.” His support team at Walk The Line was headed by company owner/ executive producer Leslie Allen. Kevin Emmons was the DP.
Freelancer Tom Welborn served as the editor, cutting the assignment at Base 2 Studios, Denver.
Deja vu
Sukle Advertising + Design is no stranger to “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery. Nearly eight years ago, the agency scored with another water-themed piece, “Lawn,” for Denver Water, in which we see a bone dry sprinkler on the front lawn of a fairly nondescript house.
A man enters the picture. He takes the initiative–albeit offbeat–to compensate for the inactive automatic sprayer. In order to help preserve what is presumably his front yard, the homeowner spits on his healthy green grass, walks a few steps, then spits again.
Over several scenes, the man methodically expectorates on different parts of his front yard: the lawn, a pretty flower bed, a neatly trimmed hedge by the porch, and near a shady tree–but to no avail. You can feel the grass browning already.
Clearly, this gentleman is an unsatisfactory substitute for H2O. Now, across what appears to be a transparent surface–perhaps a plastic shower curtain–with beads of moisture running down it, a supered message reads, “Nothing Replaces Water.” The spot drives viewers to a website that offers water conservation tips.
