Beep: Lure is beery bad
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams called on a controversial water company to ditch its malt liquor-themed marketing scheme after activists protested its ploy to sell spring water in 40-ounce containers.
Ounce Water, founded in 2015 by Hollywood actor Theo Rossi and his wife, Meghan, pulled some of its products from a Canarsie supermarket last week after NYCHA activists complained about its hiphop-influenced marketing campaign.
When Adams read about the dustup in the Daily News, he took to social media to call on Ounce to ditch its gangster style.
“The tone-deaf “#40Ounce “marketing is cultural appropriation at its worst,” Adams wrote on Twitter. “Branding that plays off the imagery of 40 ounce malt liquor is an insult to communities fighting for a healthier future.”
He added: “@GetOunced should know better, and I urge them to rebrand.”
Ounce’s 40-ounce water bottles are available for sale in all five boroughs and cofounder Meghan Rossi has said the company only wants people to stay hydrated.
“Ounce Water is hydration made easy. Ounce Water is 100% pure natural spring water,” the company said in a statement. “We are highly involved in community activities for youth and adults which focus on health and wellness, and further the education of the health benefits of proper hydration.”
But Adams, a health food enthusiast and vegan, told The News that Ounce’s marketing campaign hurts efforts to get young people to drink water rather than other beverages.
“When you use a 40-ounce water bottle to show it in a gangster style, it’s not difficult for a young person to reach for that same 40 ounce beer bottle,” he said. “The people on the ground are saying, we don’t want this in our community.”
Adams’ sentiments were echoed by Derek Perkinson, city field director for the National Action Network.
“If it’s a health kick, fine. We’re all for that,” he said. “But the presentation of it in a 40-ounce bottle is bad. We reserve the right to protect our children from being targeted. They should be ashamed of themselves.”