Public health issue has been widely discussed since the last decade. According to reports, some of the most concerning issues include HIV, food safety, and many more (Beckers Hospital Review, 2018). Mass media such as televisions, radio, magazines, have been broadly used to address health related campaigns (Brown & Einsiedei, 1990). Another common public health issue that has been raising awareness is related to drinking water quality in several cities all over the world (Levallois and Villanueva, 2019). 

There are already some articles that focuses on this particular issue, for instance this article written by Frederiksen. Frederiksen (1996) stated that the world’s population will increase in the next decade and fresh water supply that we have now will not be sufficient for generations to come.

Women in developing nations have to wait up to six hours in order to get fresh water, resulting in them neglecting school and work (Arthur, 2017). To tackle down this serious problem, a campaign that intended to put water crisis into perspective of people who take water access and availability for granted was created. Stella Artois, a Belgian company, together with actor Matt Damon, who is also the co-founder of Water.org, rolled out a digital international non-profit campaign collaboration to help millions of people around the world to have access to clean water.  

How does this work?

#WaitForWater campaign centers around a video that shows a stunt going on in a restaurant and a hotel. Employees were asked to tell customers that they don’t have any water available and will have to wait up to six hours for a shower or a glass of water. Hidden cameras that were set surrounding the scene captured the expressions of baffled customers hearing the news (Oster, 2018). 

Link to video : https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/stella-artois-makes-people-wait-for-water-in-extension-of-water-org-super-bowl-effort/

Did it give out any good result?

This campaign received a huge attention and successfully gathered over 22 MM views across the world (Shorty Awards, 2018). This partnership has provided more than a million people in developing countries access to water (Pagano, 2016).

Overall, the campaign gained a tremendous success as it resulted in water access for so many people in developing countries (Shorty Awards, 2018). In my opinion, the way the campaign got introduced to people is unique, as people who take water for granted could even in a short time, feel how devastating it is to not have access to water. The key of this campaign is to give a psychological effect towards the target that might result in them trying to quit a specific habit. 

Reference Lists :

Arthur, R. 2017, Stella Artois announces commitment to Matt Damon clean water campaign, viewed 18 November 2019, <https://www.beveragedaily.com/Article/2017/01/17/Stella-Artois-Matt-Damon-clean-water-campaign>.

Beckers Hospital review, 2016. CDC: 10 most important public health problems and concerns, viewed 18 November 2019, <https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/population-health/cdc-10-most-important-public-health-problems-and-concerns.html>.

Brown, J. D. & Einsiedei, E. F., 1990, ‘Public Health Campaigns: Mass Media Strategies’, Communication and Health: Systems and Applications, no. 1, pp. 153-71, viewed 18 November 2019, <https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0Tv8AQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA153&dq=importance+of+public+health+campaigns&ots=PyfLHMl-dl&sig=q3FNew_q1469VOPhWAiZwJ1zwcw#v=onepage&q=importance%20of%20public%20health%20campaigns&f=false>.

Frederiksen, H. D. 1996, ‘Water Crisis in Developing World: Misconceptions about Solutions’, Water Resources Planning and Management, vol. 122, no. 2, viewed 18 November 2019, <https://ascelibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9496%281996%29122%3A2%2879%29>

Levallois, P. & Villanueva, C. M., 2019, ‘Drinking Water Quality and Human Health: An Editorial’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 631, viewed 18 November 2019, <https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/4/631#cite>.

Oster, E. 2018, Stella Artois Makes People Wait for Water in Extension of Water.Org Super Bowl Effort, viewed 18 November 2019, <https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/stella-artois-makes-people-wait-for-water-in-extension-of-water-org-super-bowl-effort/>.

Pagano, M. 2018, Matt Damon’s quest to turn lager into water, viewed 18 November 2019, <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/matt-damons-quest-to-turn-lager-into-water-a8192236.html>.