Water, Water Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink: Reflections on Super Bowl Ads 2016

As usual, there has been a lot of hype these past few days about the ads broadcast during the Super Bowl.  Everybody has there favorites, and those that they really disliked.  Personally, I thought the Snickers ad with Marilyn Monroe was a hoot!  Some of the others, not so much.  But hey, what can you expect for four million dollars?

I did see one ad this weekend, however, that made a real impact on me.  I think it was for Colgate Toothpaste, but it really had the feel of a public service announcement.  It showed a fellow standing at his bathroom sink.  He was dressed in striped pajamas, and as the water was running full tilt he was brushing his teeth.  Keeping the water faucet turned on while brushing your teeth wasted four gallons of water every time you do it, we were informed.  That's more than people in some parts of the world have to use for a whole week.

Many wise folks have suggested that water is the new oil.  That our wrangling over oil will pale in comparison to the struggles that lie ahead when it comes to water.  And I suspect they are right.  The problems in Flint, Michigan are probably mild compared to what's coming.  The problems we are having here in Southwest Florida with the discharge of waters from a reservoir upstream into the Gulf of Mexico will seem easy to solve compared to issues we will confront in the future.  And, of course, in many parts of the world, such is already the case--as the toothpaste ad points out.

But we just blithely brush our teeth--as water runs down the drain.  I don't know about you, but I'm taking a closer look at what I do when I get up in the morning.  I hope you will as well.