Fun for Lovers of Tap Water, Haters of Plastic, and Recreational Liars

A lot of people realize bottled water is a bad idea. But few hate the product with any amount of passion that could hold a flame to the active loathing of Tappening.com. The site has long presented the case for “drinking locally” in two simple pages of facts, one praising tap water's merits and the other denouncing the evils of bottled water. But they’ve now taken a step in another direction by propagating some less-than-fact-based new slogans:

1. Bottled Water Makes Acid Rain Fall on Playgrounds
2. Bottled Water is the Primary Cause of Restless Leg Syndrome
3. Bottled Water Causes Blindness in Puppies
4. Bottled Water: 98% Melted Ice Caps. 2% Polar Bear Tears

All of these slogans are, of course, lies. And that’s the point. “We’re not just admitting it up front, we’re bragging about it. We want people to know we’re blatantly lying in our new campaign…and, most importantly, that everyone should pay close attention to what’s factual in marketing and what’s not so much,” said Tappening co-founder Eric Yaverbaum in a press release.  He and partner Mark DiMassimo rationalize that bottled water companies lie in their advertising, so it’s only fair that anti-bottled-water campaigns get to lie, too.

And as long as they’re evening out the playing field, the pair figured they’d give everyone else an opportunity to get in on the fun.  Which is why they created startalie.com, where you can author your very own untruth and effectively spread it through email, Facebook, Twitter, and Digg.

--Sarah F. Kessler