Health Campaign Gets Sexy With Ashanti Video And Interactive Hashtag #DrinkUpAshanti
The Partnership for a Healthier America, along with Y&R and VML New York, aim to give the ultimate healthy drink the same marketing sizzle enjoyed by the sugary sort.
Healthy eating and anti-obesity advocates lament the fact that the healthier product often lacks the sizzle — and definitely the marketing — that junk food employs to appeal to young minds. The sugary cereal boxes bear the most familiar licensed characters, while fruits and vegetables go unadorned.
A new campaign by the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), put together with Y&R and VML New York, aims to rectify this imbalance and make water sexy and cool.
The main vehicle for this message is a unique video by Grammy-winning pop star Ashanti, who has previously given her support to the non-profit organization. She explains the concept in an introductory video appearing on the microsite DrinkUpAshanti.com, telling viewers she’s releasing a “dehydrated” version of her new single, Let’s Go.
Fans can bring the video to its full richness of sound and color by tweeting and tagging Instagram posts with the hashtag #DrinkUpAshanti, thereby “hydrating” the video with yummy yummy water.
The video’s director, Carl Addy, says, “What I like about this campaign is that it’s not dictating to people what they need to be doing. In fact, it’s doing something totally different. It’s trying to intrigue them into unraveling the narrative in this music video. You’re getting people to explore its meaning.”
Indeed, in the video that people see at the start, Ashanti’s voice is thin, and she’s surrounded by mostly darkness and shadows.
Producers made multiple versions of the video, and progressively richer versions will be released as the hashtag activity goes up to 100,000. A couple of hours before the time of this writing, the campaign’s dedicated Twitter account, @URH2O, said fans were getting closer to being able to see a new version:
#FridayFeeling hydrated w/ #DrinkUpAshanti. We're so close to the next version of the song! https://t.co/CZcSxlq54m pic.twitter.com/8xq1nI76H7
— URH2O (@URH2O) November 6, 2015
Of course, it helped that the artist herself promoted the campaign through her social media presences:
Go to https://t.co/GgJ9HY1RVd to see my video for "Let's Go" #DrinkUpAshanti ?❤️
— ASHANTI (@ashanti) November 6, 2015
Reaction to the campaign on Twitter was quite positive, with tweeps encouraging others to use the hashtag and hydrate the video:
Really clever lesson on hydration via PHA @MichelleObama and @ashanti. Always on time. #DrinkUpAshanti https://t.co/nbM5e3UndP
— Sarah (@SarahAVanDell) November 6, 2015
"Do not throw actual water on the video." I am legit obsessed with this #DrinkUpAshanti campaign. pic.twitter.com/oAMAodf8pH
— Joe John Sanchez III (@JJS_III) November 6, 2015
@ashanti we going to need you to #drinkupashanti cuz I need to hear the hydrated version………
— Anthony ❤Braveheart❤ (@funnyBoi87) November 5, 2015
#DrinkUpAshanti h20 never made me feel sexy until now ? thanks Princess @ashanti and First Lady @MichelleObama https://t.co/1WUsEQP5Fv
— superdopecloset (@Quinton_Maurice) November 6, 2015
Besides all the social action, a consumer PR campaign being undertaken by Rogers & Cowan has already gotten the campaign mentioned in media outlets like Parade Magazine and on a number of local TV stations.
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