Triumph of Marketing over Sense

[madrobins]

Schools are banning soda and sweet drinks, and I think that's fine. So now, rushing in to fill the void, comes AquaPod--water in a round-ish bottle. That's it. That's the entire gimmick.

In a press release dated April 4, 2006, Amy Sticco Sweeney writes about the new bottle design from Nestle Waters of North America saying, "We designed the Aquapod bottle to make drinking water fun and exciting for kids, who love to sip from and show off the cool bubble shaped bottle."

I repeat: it's water. "Natural spring water" in a round bottle (a round bottle that won't fit into a cup holder, a backpack bottle holder, whatever). "Natural spring water" in a round plastic bottle that will doubtless be sent off to the recyclers, where it may be recycled or may not.

Me, I'm trying to get my kids to take a Nalgene to school every day and refill it from the waterfront. Not that I"m against staying hydrated, but...go to the drinking fountain.

(Yes, I have officially moved into the Old Fogey portion of the program.)