{"id":495,"title":"Why you can't buy Dasani water in Britain","description":"Tom Scott explains the infamous failure of Coca-Cola's Dasani bottled water in the UK in 2004. He details how the British public's perception of bottled water as natural mineral water clashed with Dasani being purified tap water, a fact highlighted by a popular sitcom. A journalist's discovery of Dasani's tap water source and subsequent widespread media coverage, coupled with a contamination scare, led to the brand's swift withdrawal from the UK market. Scott argues that while the launch faced challenges, its failure was not entirely inevitable.","slug":"why-you-can-t-buy-dasani-water-in-britain","creator":"TomScottGo","duration":590.042268,"tags":["Dasani","Coca-Cola","bottled water","marketing disaster","UK market","tap water","Only Fools and Horses","media scandal","bromate contamination","Tom Scott"],"transcription":"This is a bottle of Dasani, Coca-Cola's brand of bottled water. It is basically Coke without the syrup. Like most American bottled water, it is tap water that's been purified and then had tiny amounts of minerals deliberately added back into it. Except not quite. This is a British Dasani bottle from 2004, which is the first and last time you could ever buy Dasani water in the UK. And the story of why it failed here is one of the greatest marketing disaster stories in history. But it wasn't until I started researching, searching through newspapers and TV shows from 2004, that I found that the tale is a little more complicated than I thought. A little more complicated than a lot of the world thought. And it starts years earlier. Through most of the 1980s, bottled water was something expensive that got ordered at fancy restaurants, and it was only by the early 90s that it didn't start to become a thing that everyday people might want to buy. On Christmas Day, 1992, British sitcom Only Fools and Horses made fun of that trend by having its main character, lovable rogue Del Boy, sell tap water from South London as Peckham Spring bottled water. It's a slow and old-fashioned comedy by today's standards, and the episode is really weirdly paced. You're two-thirds of the way through before anyone actually starts bottling water, but because it was the Christmas Day episode in 1992, back when most British households only had four channels of television, that show was watched by more than 20 million people, more than a third of the entire British population. And the final joke of that episode is that the water is contaminated by some chemical barrels that Del Boy dumped in a local pond in the first act. It is, to be fair, a brilliant closing gag, and it's one that's stuck in the British psyche. The BBC reran the episode another five times in the years after. It'll have been on cable and satellite channels many more times than that. I would guess that by 2004, when Dasani launched, about half of the country, maybe more, could understand Peckham Spring as a reference, or at least remember that time Del Boy tried to bottle tap water. Now, under UK law, mineral water is a protected term. Mineral water must come from a certified underground spring. It must not be chemically treated in any way, and it's generally under heavy regulation. And back in 2004, the perception was that bottled water meant mineral water. Why else would you buy it? It's it's something you can't get at home. Over in America, though, the home of Coca-Cola, the perception of bottled water was that it was just that. It was water in a bottle. You were paying for the convenience and the taste, and it didn't really matter whether that came from the ground or from a water purification factory. To be fair, there are large parts of America where the tap water does not taste or smell good, and their federal standards aren't great, particularly compared to Europe. And anyone who has ever taken a vacation to Disney World, for example, will know that the tap water around Orlando can smell a little sulfury. But in the UK, the perception was different. You were buying mineral water because it was natural. It had been filtered through rocks for eons. It was classier and fancier and perhaps healthier than what came out of your tap. That's for us, of course. We have some of the safest tap water in the world, and did back then too, but advertising is powerful, and the idea was that bottled water was filtered and pure straight from the earth. It was somehow better. Coca-Cola were trying to introduce an American-style filtered tap water to a British mineral water market. Now, they were not lying about their water. Their marketing didn't use the phrase tap water. They preferred purified water, but they weren't lying. It says on the back of the bottle, their process precisely delivers pure still water. The public might have assumed it was mineral water, but Coca-Cola never said that. In fact, what they had done is spent a long time with focus groups, taste testing and refining the mineral balance and the flavor of the water, making a version of Dasani that was ideal for the British palate. Dasani launched with the first stage of what was going to be a 7 million pound advertising campaign on February 10th, 2004, and it went okay. For weeks, the British public either didn't notice or didn't care that it was tap water, the same way Americans don't seem to care. There were occasional rough patches for the launch, like shopkeepers in Buxton, a town famous for its mineral water, complaining about being forced by their contracts with Coca-Cola to replace bottles of the local water in coolers with Dasani. Or the regulators launching an investigation into whether Coca-Cola should be using the word pure on the label. But, on the whole, it went okay. A lot of articles written more recently claim that Coca-Cola's first blunder was copying an American Dasani slogan, \"Can't live without spunk,\" which has a very different meaning in the UK. But I don't think that's true. The only actual evidence I could find of that slogan is a screenshot on one tech news website that liked innuendo. Looks like a web designer reused some American ad images in one part of a flash-based website that almost no one saw. No other article from the time that I can find, anyway, mentions that slogan at all. The advertising was put together by Coca-Cola's UK division. They're not stupid. In fact, the advertising team was probably pretty good. Really, all things considered, the launch had been successful. And then it all went wrong, very, very quickly. Exactly three weeks after launch, March the 2nd, most of the major British newspapers simultaneously put out big stories announcing that Dasani was bottled tap water. Most of them mentioned that episode of Only Fools and Horses, and all of them made a lot of noise implying that it was a rip-off, although perhaps they didn't put it in quite so few words. And back when a lot of people actually read physical newspapers, front-page news saying that your product is a rip-off does make a big difference to sales. But why was it suddenly news everywhere at the same time after three silent weeks? The missing piece of the puzzle is one journalist called Graham Hiscott, who worked for the Press Association. And as he tells it, as part of a brilliant half-hour documentary made later that year, he happened to be flipping through an issue of The Grocer, an industry magazine, at work one day. And, you know, that's that's an event that the the documentary asked him to recreate for some reason. Now, The Grocer is an ideal source for journalists looking for the next story about a product recall or a weird marketing strategy. And that issue of the magazine had a feature on bottled water. And there was just one line in one article describing Dasani as a mineral-enhanced treated tap water, which, when written so clearly, seemed odd. So Graham called Coca-Cola, and they said, yes. Yeah, Dasani is is treated tap water from the main supply at their bottling plant, right there, in Sidcup, South London, 10 miles from Peckham, where that episode of Only Fools and Horses was set. A few hours after that phone call, there was an article on the Press Association news wire about where Dasani came from. Articles on the news wire don't usually go straight to the public. They go to other journalists first who can use them or adapt them. And the editors at most of the newspapers correctly decided that, yes, this was something their readers would be interested in. Six months earlier, when Coca-Cola was setting out preparations for their Dasani launch, The Grocer had run a small article about it. And there's a line in there that's prophetic. One senior buyer warned that some consumers may be put off by the water's lack of provenance. And now, Coke bottling tap water for 3,000% markup was on the front pages. But Coca-Cola and Dasani soldiered on. That didn't kill the brand. They put more marketing budget behind it. They gave away three bottles in supermarkets. Another article in The Grocer from back then quotes Coca-Cola's UK marketing director. \"There cannot be many people who do not know about Dasani now as a result of the press coverage. I cannot imagine how much we would have had to spend to get that level of awareness.\" There is a theory that there's no such thing as bad publicity, after all. The final nail in the coffin was the contamination. They'd had a bad batch of calcium chloride delivered right here. It's one of the chemicals they use in the purification process, and tests revealed that their water contained above the legal limits of bromate, a cancer-causing chemical. There wasn't anywhere near enough in the water to do harm, but there was enough that it was outside the legal limits. So within 24 hours, every unsold bottle was recalled back here, and the shelves were empty. Just like Del Boy, not only had Coca-Cola sold tap water in a bottle, but they'd sold contaminated tap water in a bottle. Dasani never returned to shops. Never launched in France or Germany, like they were planning. And to this day, if you type Dasani into Google UK, you get results about the disaster, news reports from 2004 on the first page. Coca-Cola launched other water brands, of course, but as far as I can tell, they all look to be spring waters or mineral waters. They're not hooking up a purifier to the tap. Not over here. There are other folks selling purified tap water, of course, but that's usually the cheap option on the shelf. Not that it matters. It's all just water. And I reckon Coca-Cola could absolutely have made this work. Maybe they still could. There is a world in which one journalist didn't use the words tap water, or another journalist didn't happen to look at one particular article, and where the launch went just fine, and Britain got used to the fact that drinking bottled purified tap water could be normal. After all, if it had been a popular brand, no one would want to admit their purchases might be questionable. It's a lot easier to just say, yeah, that's fine. Of course. I know it's tap water. Then go, hang on, I've been paying how much for what? And worry that you might have been ripped off. I don't think the Dasani disaster was inevitable. But it happened. And all that's left, 16 years later, is a few bottles like this. Shame about the people honking, wasn't it? Yeah. They might have, I now, I'll tell you what, we turned that well, because here comes a lorry. Shame about the people honking, wasn't it? Yeah. They might have, I now, I'll tell you what, we turned that well, because here comes a lorry.","timeline":[{"t":0,"speech":"This is a bottle of Dasani, Coca-Cola's brand of bottled water. It is basically Coke without the syrup. Like most American bottled water, it is tap water that's been purified, and then had tiny amounts of minerals deliberately added back into it.","visual":{"action":"A man in a light grey hoodie and dark blue jeans stands on a paved sidewalk next to a road, holding a blue Dasani water bottle. He gestures with his right hand as he speaks, explaining the composition of the water. Cars pass on the road behind him.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center left","state":"held in hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"smiling, engaged","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"holding bottle in left, gesturing with right","pose":"standing, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"}}},{"t":13,"speech":"Except not quite. This is a British Dasani bottle from 2004, which is the first and last time you could ever buy Dasani water in the UK. And the story of why it failed here is one of the greatest marketing disaster stories in history.","visual":{"action":"The man continues to speak, holding the Dasani bottle. Two images of Dasani bottles with labels appear on either side of him, showing the front and nutritional information of a 500ml purified still water bottle.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center left","state":"held in hand"},{"color":"blue, white","name":"Dasani bottle label (front)","position":"left","state":"on-screen graphic"},{"color":"blue, white","name":"Dasani bottle label (nutrition)","position":"right","state":"on-screen graphic"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"holding bottle, gesturing","pose":"standing, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"}}},{"t":28,"speech":"But it wasn't until I started researching, searching through newspapers and TV shows from 2004, that I found that the tale is a little more complicated than I thought. A little more complicated than a lot of the world thought. And it starts years earlier.","visual":{"action":"The man walks forward on the sidewalk, holding the Dasani bottle with both hands, gesturing as he speaks. Cars continue to pass on the road to his right. The on-screen graphics of the bottle labels disappear.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative, thoughtful","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"holding bottle, gesturing","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"}}},{"t":40,"speech":"Through most of the 1980s, bottled water was something expensive that got ordered at fancy restaurants, and it was only by the early 90s that it didn't start to become a thing that everyday people might want to buy.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. He gestures with his right hand to emphasize points. Cars continue to pass on the road.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in left hand, gesturing with right"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"holding bottle, gesturing","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"}}},{"t":50,"speech":"On Christmas Day, 1992, British sitcom Only Fools and Horses made fun of that trend by having its main character, lovable rogue Del Boy, sell tap water from South London as Peckham Spring bottled water.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking. On the right side of the screen, a split-screen appears showing a still image from the British sitcom \"Only Fools and Horses: Mother Nature's Son,\" depicting a street market scene with many people. Text below identifies the show and year.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"holding bottle, gesturing","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"Only Fools and Horses: Mother Nature's Son BBC, 1992","location":"bottom right","style":"white text on black background"}]}},{"t":54,"speech":"It's a slow and old-fashioned comedy by today's standards, and the episode is really weirdly paced. You're two-thirds of the way through before anyone actually starts bottling water, but because it was the Christmas Day episode in 1992, back when most British households only had four channels of television, that show was watched by more than 20 million people, more than a third of the entire British population.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking. The split-screen on the right changes to show a scene from the sitcom where two men in white lab coats are bottling water, then another scene of one man in a lab coat holding a tray of bottles.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"holding bottle, gesturing","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"Only Fools and Horses: Mother Nature's Son BBC, 1992","location":"bottom right","style":"white text on black background"}]}},{"t":124,"speech":"And the final joke of that episode is that the water is contaminated by some chemical barrels that Del Boy dumped in a local pond in the first act. It is, to be fair, a brilliant closing gag, and it's one that's stuck in the British psyche.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking. The split-screen on the right changes again, showing a scene from the sitcom with barrels in water, then a close-up of a bottle, and finally a glowing bottle in a dark setting.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"holding bottle, gesturing","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"Only Fools and Horses: Mother Nature's Son BBC, 1992","location":"bottom right","style":"white text on black background"}]}},{"t":137,"speech":"The BBC reran the episode another five times in the years after. It'll have been on cable and satellite channels many more times than that. I would guess that by 2004, when Dasani launched, about half of the country, maybe more, could understand Peckham Spring as a reference, or at least remember that time Del Boy tried to bottle tap water.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The split-screen with the sitcom clips disappears.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"holding bottle, gesturing","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"}}},{"t":155,"speech":"Now, under UK law, mineral water is a protected term. Mineral water must come from a certified underground spring. It must not be chemically treated in any way, and it's generally under heavy regulation.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking. On-screen text appears in a black box, then a screenshot of a UK government legislation website about water regulations. The text highlights specific criteria for \"natural mineral water.\"","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"holding bottle, gesturing","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"mineral water","location":"center","style":"white text on black background"},{"content":"The Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations 1999","location":"top center","style":"black text on white background"},{"content":"\"natural mineral water\" means water which- (a) is microbiologically wholesome; (b) originates in an underground water table or deposit and emerges from a spring tapped at one or more natural or bore exits; (c) can be clearly distinguished from ordinary drinking water by the characteristics referred to in paragraph 1 of Section I of Annex I; and (d) is for the time being recognised for the purposes of Article 1 pursuant to regulation 4;","location":"bottom right","style":"black text on white background"}]}},{"t":207,"speech":"And back in 2004, the perception was that bottled water meant mineral water. Why else would you buy it? It's it's something you can't get at home. Over in America, though, the home of Coca-Cola, the perception of bottled water was that it was just that. It was water in a bottle. You were paying for the convenience and the taste, and it didn't really matter whether that came from the ground or from a water purification factory.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The on-screen text about water regulations disappears. He gestures with both hands to emphasize his points. Cars continue to pass on the road.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"}}},{"t":230,"speech":"To be fair, there are large parts of America where the tap water does not taste or smell good, and their federal standards aren't great, particularly compared to Europe. And anyone who has ever taken a vacation to Disney World, for example, will know that the tap water around Orlando can smell a little sulfury.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. He gestures with his right hand, then brings it to his nose briefly.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking, briefly touches nose","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"holding bottle, gesturing, then touching nose","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"}}},{"t":248,"speech":"But in the UK, the perception was different. You were buying mineral water because it was natural. It had been filtered through rocks for eons. It was classier and fancier and perhaps healthier than what came out of your tap. That's for us, of course. We have some of the safest tap water in the world, and did back then too, but advertising is powerful, and the idea was that bottled water was filtered and pure straight from the earth. It was somehow better.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. He gestures emphatically with both hands. On-screen text appears, counting down from 3 to 0, indicating an upcoming car horn sound.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative, emphatic","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"Car horn in 3","location":"bottom right","style":"white text on black background"},{"content":"Car horn in 2","location":"bottom right","style":"white text on black background"},{"content":"Car horn in 1","location":"bottom right","style":"white text on black background"},{"content":"Car horn in 0","location":"bottom right","style":"white text on black background"}]}},{"t":313,"speech":"Coca-Cola were trying to introduce an American-style filtered tap water to a British mineral water market. Now, they were not lying about their water. Their marketing didn't use the phrase tap water. They preferred purified water, but they weren't lying. It says on the back of the bottle, their process precisely delivers pure still water.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. He gestures with his right hand. A close-up of the Dasani bottle label appears on the bottom of the screen, showing the text \"Purified Still Water\" and ingredients.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with right hand","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"Purified Still Water Dasani uses a state of the art reverse osmosis process that precisely delivers pure still water. Ingredients: Water, Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Sulphate, Sodium Bicarbonate.","location":"bottom center","style":"white text on blue background"}]}},{"t":333,"speech":"The public might have assumed it was mineral water, but Coca-Cola never said that. In fact, what they had done is spent a long time with focus groups, taste testing and refining the mineral balance and the flavor of the water, making a version of Dasani that was ideal for the British palate.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The close-up of the bottle label disappears. He gestures with both hands to emphasize his points. Cars continue to pass on the road.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"}}},{"t":347,"speech":"Dasani launched with the first stage of what was going to be a 7 million pound advertising campaign on February 10th, 2004, and it went okay. For weeks, the British public either didn't notice or didn't care that it was tap water, the same way Americans don't seem to care.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. A newspaper clipping with the headline \"Dasani grabs Piccadilly\" appears on the left side of the screen, detailing Coca-Cola's marketing plans for Dasani.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"The Grocer, January 2004 Dasani grabs Piccadilly Coca-Cola has revealed details of the first stage of a marketing blitz behind new water brand Dasani. The new offering, a filtered H2O enhanced with minerals, will be officially launched in the UK on February 10 when the company is due to hit the streets with the first phase of a £7m first-year spend.","location":"left center","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"}]}},{"t":403,"speech":"There were occasional rough patches for the launch, like shopkeepers in Buxton, a town famous for its mineral water, complaining about being forced by their contracts with Coca-Cola to replace bottles of the local water in coolers with Dasani. Or the regulators launching an investigation into whether Coca-Cola should be using the word pure on the label.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The newspaper clipping changes to a new headline: \"Fury as Coke bans rival,\" discussing Coca-Cola's contracts with retailers.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"The Grocer, February 2004 Fury as Coke bans rival Simon Mowbray Coca-Cola has landed itself in hot water with independent retailers – after banning them from stocking rival brands of bottled H2O in its chillers. The drinks giant has launched its first assault on Britain’s bottled water market with Dasani, a filtered water fortified with minerals. It plans to","location":"left center","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"}]}},{"t":422,"speech":"But, on the whole, it went okay. A lot of articles written more recently claim that Coca-Cola's first blunder was copying an American Dasani slogan, \"Can't live without spunk,\" which has a very different meaning in the UK. But I don't think that's true.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The newspaper clipping disappears, and a new graphic appears on the right showing a Dasani website screenshot with the slogan \"CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT SPUNK\" circled in red.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"Coca-Cola GB, via The Register, 11 March 2004","location":"bottom right","style":"white text on black background"}]}},{"t":438,"speech":"The only actual evidence I could find of that slogan is a screenshot on one tech news website that liked innuendo. Looks like a web designer reused some American ad images in one part of a flash-based website that almost no one saw. No other article from the time that I can find, anyway, mentions that slogan at all.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The Dasani website screenshot is replaced by a newspaper clipping with the headline \"Introducing Dasani – the water with added, er, protein.\"","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"The Register, 11 March 2004 Bootnotes Introducing Dasani – the water with added, er, protein Revealed: Coca Cola's secret ingredient By Lester Haines 11 Mar 2004 @ 14:51 Coca Cola is to be applauded for introducing enhanced water in the form of Dasani - a 'cool, vibrant, refreshingly blue' improvement on the","location":"right center","style":"red and black text on white newspaper clipping"}]}},{"t":454,"speech":"The advertising was put together by Coca-Cola's UK division. They're not stupid. In fact, the advertising team was probably pretty good. Really, all things considered, the launch had been successful.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The newspaper clipping disappears. He gestures with both hands to emphasize his points. Cars continue to pass on the road.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative, confident","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"}}},{"t":505,"speech":"And then it all went wrong, very, very quickly. Exactly three weeks after launch, March the 2nd, most of the major British newspapers simultaneously put out big stories announcing that Dasani was bottled tap water. Most of them mentioned that episode of Only Fools and Horses, and all of them made a lot of noise implying that it was a rip-off, although perhaps they didn't put it in quite so few words.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. Several newspaper clippings appear on screen, overlapping, all with headlines about Dasani being tap water, and mentioning the \"Only Fools and Horses\" sitcom.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"dramatic, informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking, slightly surprised","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"THE REAL STING Coca-Cola's 95p bottled water comes out of a tap near Peckham The Sun, 2 March 2004","location":"bottom left","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"},{"content":"The real thing? Coke's bottled water is from a tap in Sidcup Daily Telegraph, 2 March 2004","location":"right center","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"},{"content":"Coca-Cola's 95p a bottle water comes out of a tap near Peckham (didn't Del Boy try that?) Daily Mail, 2 March 2004","location":"left center","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"},{"content":"How Coca-Cola is selling water from the tap at 95p a bottle Daily Telegraph, 2 March 2004","location":"bottom center","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"},{"content":"It's the real thing... Coke's tap water from Sidcup The Times, 2 March 2004","location":"top right","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"}]}},{"t":526,"speech":"And back when a lot of people actually read physical newspapers, front-page news saying that your product is a rip-off does make a big difference to sales. But why was it suddenly news everywhere at the same time after three silent weeks? The missing piece of the puzzle is one journalist called Graham Hiscott, who worked for the Press Association.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The newspaper clippings disappear, and a new split-screen appears on the left showing a still image of Graham Hiscott with text identifying him. The background is an office with stacks of papers.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative, curious","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"GRAHAM HISCOTT Press Association The Money Programme: Coke's Water Bomb BBC, 2004","location":"bottom left","style":"white text on black background"}]}},{"t":547,"speech":"And as he tells it, as part of a brilliant half-hour documentary made later that year, he happened to be flipping through an issue of The Grocer, an industry magazine, at work one day. And, you know, that's that's an event that the the documentary asked him to recreate for some reason.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The split-screen on the left changes to show a person (presumably Graham Hiscott) flipping through a magazine at a desk, then a close-up of the magazine page with Dasani branding.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"The Money Programme: Coke's Water Bomb BBC, 2004","location":"bottom left","style":"white text on black background"}]}},{"t":604,"speech":"Now, The Grocer is an ideal source for journalists looking for the next story about a product recall or a weird marketing strategy. And that issue of the magazine had a feature on bottled water. And there was just one line in one article describing Dasani as a mineral-enhanced treated tap water, which when written so clearly, seemed odd. So Graham called Coca-Cola, and they said, yes.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The split-screen on the left changes to show a newspaper clipping with the headline \"Giant fortifications\" and a specific line highlighted: \"Coca-Cola launched mineral-enhanced treated tap water Dasani in the United States in 1999.\"","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"none","background":"road with passing cars, green bushes, bare trees","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"The Grocer, February 2004 FOCUS ON BOTTLED WATER Giant fortifications Big brands are set to muscle in on a young category Bottled waters are a new phenomenon and accounted for less than 2% of the packaged natural and flavoured water market last year, according to Zenith International. However, all this looks set to change as soft drinks giants Coca-Cola, Nestlé and GlaxoSmithKline get to grips with the category. Coca-Cola launched mineral-enhanced treated tap water Dasani in the United States in 1999. It is the second bestselling water there and made its UK debut last month backed by a £7m round of","location":"left center","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"}]}},{"t":626,"speech":"Yeah, Dasani is is treated tap water from the main supply at their bottling plant, right there, in Sidcup, South London, 10 miles from Peckham, where that episode of Only Fools and Horses was set.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. He points his right hand towards a large, light-colored industrial building in the distance, indicating the bottling plant. The newspaper clipping disappears.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative, revelatory","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center left","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking, pointing","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"pointing right, holding bottle left","pose":"walking, pointing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"industrial building","background":"large industrial building, trees, road with cars","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road, industrial area"}}},{"t":657,"speech":"A few hours after that phone call, there was an article on the Press Association news wire about where Dasani came from. Articles on the news wire don't usually go straight to the public. They go to other journalists first who can use them or adapt them. And the editors at most of the newspapers correctly decided that, yes, this was something their readers would be interested in.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. He gestures with his right hand. The background shows the industrial building and trees. Cars pass on the road.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center left","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with right hand","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"industrial building","background":"large industrial building, trees, road with cars","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road, industrial area"}}},{"t":697,"speech":"Six months earlier, when Coca-Cola was setting out preparations for their Dasani launch, The Grocer had run a small article about it. And there's a line in there that's prophetic. One senior buyer warned that some consumers may be put off by the water's lack of provenance.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. A newspaper clipping appears on the left side of the screen with the headline \"Water world braced for Dasani.\" A specific line is highlighted: \"But one senior buyer warned that some consumers may be put off by the water's lack of provenance.\"","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center left","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with right hand","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"industrial building","background":"large industrial building, trees, road with cars","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road, industrial area"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"The Grocer, September 2003 Water world braced for Dasani DASANI But one senior buyer warned that some consumers may be put off by the water's lack of provenance. He said: \"The","location":"left center","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"}]}},{"t":713,"speech":"And now, Coke bottling tap water for 3,000% markup was on the front pages. But Coca-Cola and Dasani soldiered on. That didn't kill the brand. They put more marketing budget behind it. They gave away three bottles in supermarkets. Another article in The Grocer from back then quotes Coca-Cola's UK marketing director. \"There cannot be many people who do not know about Dasani now as a result of the press coverage. I cannot imagine how much we would have had to spend to get that level of awareness.\"","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. The newspaper clipping disappears, and a new one appears on the left with the headline \"Coca-Cola sticks in there with controversial Dasani.\" A quote from Coca-Cola's marketing director is highlighted.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative, determined","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center left","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with right hand","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"industrial building","background":"large industrial building, trees, road with cars","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road, industrial area"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"The Grocer, March 2004 Coca-Cola sticks in there with controversial Dasani Enterprises, insisted: “There cannot be many people who do not know about Dasani now as a result of the press coverage. I cannot imagine how much we would have had to spend to get that level of awareness. In fact,","location":"left center","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"}]}},{"t":780,"speech":"There is a theory that there's no such thing as bad publicity, after all. The final nail in the coffin was the contamination. They'd had a bad batch of calcium chloride delivered right here. It's one of the chemicals they use in the purification process, and tests revealed that their water contained above the legal limits of bromate, a cancer-causing chemical. There wasn't anywhere near enough in the water to do harm, but there was enough that it was outside the legal limits. So within 24 hours, every unsold bottle was recalled back here, and the shelves were empty. Just like Del Boy, not only had Coca-Cola sold tap water in a bottle, but they'd sold contaminated tap water in a bottle.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. He gestures emphatically with his right hand, pointing towards the industrial building. The newspaper clipping disappears. He looks directly at the camera.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"dramatic, serious","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center left","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking, serious","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with right hand, holding bottle left","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"industrial building","background":"large industrial building, trees, road with cars","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road, industrial area"}}},{"t":811,"speech":"Dasani never returned to shops. Never launched in France or Germany, like they were planning. And to this day, if you type Dasani into Google UK, you get results about the disaster, news reports from 2004 on the first page. Coca-Cola launched other water brands, of course, but as far as I can tell, they all look to be spring waters or mineral waters. They're not hooking up a purifier to the tap. Not over here.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. A screenshot of Google UK search results for \"Dasani\" appears on the left, showing news articles about the disaster. He gestures with his right hand.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative, reflective","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center left","state":"held in left hand"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with right hand, holding bottle left","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"industrial building","background":"large industrial building, trees, road with cars","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road, industrial area"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"The Guardian, 19 March 2004 Things get worse with Coke The Times, 19 March 2004 Coca-Cola withdraws 'Sidcup tap' water","location":"left center","style":"black text on white newspaper clipping"},{"content":"Google search results for \"Dasani\" showing news reports from 2004","location":"left center","style":"screenshot of Google search results"}]}},{"t":840,"speech":"There are other folks selling purified tap water, of course, but that's usually the cheap option on the shelf. Not that it matters. It's all just water. And I reckon Coca-Cola could absolutely have made this work. Maybe they still could. There is a world in which one journalist didn't use the words tap water, or another journalist didn't happen to look at one particular article, and where the launch went just fine, and Britain got used to the fact that drinking bottled purified tap water could be normal.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. He gestures with both hands. The Google search results disappear. He walks towards a road sign.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative, hopeful","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held in both hands, gesturing"},{"color":"white, black","name":"road sign","position":"right","state":"standing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing with both hands","pose":"walking, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"industrial building","background":"large industrial building, trees, road with cars","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road, industrial area"}}},{"t":908,"speech":"After all, if it had been a popular brand, no one would want to admit their purchases might be questionable. It's a lot easier to just say, yeah, that's fine. Of course. I know it's tap water. Then go, hang on, I've been paying how much for what? And worry that you might have been ripped off. I don't think the Dasani disaster was inevitable. But it happened. And all that's left, 16 years later, is a few bottles like this.","visual":{"action":"The man continues walking and speaking, holding the Dasani bottle. He gestures with both hands. He walks past the road sign and then stops, looking at the bottle. He then throws the bottle off-screen to his left, and then another bottle, before turning back to the camera. On-screen text appears: \"THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW\" and social media handles.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"informative, reflective, slightly humorous","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center","state":"held, then thrown"},{"color":"white, black","name":"road sign","position":"right","state":"standing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"engaged, talking, then smiling","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing, throwing bottles","pose":"walking, gesturing, then throwing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"industrial building","background":"large industrial building, trees, road with cars","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road, industrial area"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW tomscott.com @tomscott @tomscottgo","location":"bottom left","style":"white text on black background"}]}},{"t":938,"speech":"Shame about the people honking, wasn't it? Yeah. They might have, I now, I'll tell you what, we turned that well, because here comes a lorry. Shame about the people honking, wasn't it? Yeah. They might have, I now, I'll tell you what, we turned that well, because here comes a lorry.","visual":{"action":"The man smiles and gestures towards the road. A large white lorry with blue crates on its flatbed drives past him on the road. He watches it pass, then turns back to the camera.","colors":{"dominant":"#889498","palette":["#505860","#90A0A8","#B8C0C8","#C8D0D8","#E0E8E8","#F0F0F0"]},"composition":{"angle":"eye-level","focus":"sharp","framing":"medium shot"},"mood":"humorous, conversational","objects":[{"color":"blue","name":"Dasani water bottle","position":"center left","state":"held in left hand"},{"color":"white, blue","name":"lorry with crates","position":"right","state":"passing"}],"people":[{"age_range":"20s-30s","clothing":{"accessories":"black backpack, lavalier microphone","bottom":"dark blue jeans","footwear":"brown hiking shoes","top":"light grey hoodie"},"face":"smiling, talking, looking at lorry","hair":"short, light brown","hands":"gesturing, then holding bottle","pose":"standing, gesturing","position":"center"}],"setting":{"architecture":"industrial building","background":"large industrial building, trees, road with cars","lighting":"overcast daylight","location":"outdoor sidewalk next to a road, industrial area"},"text_on_screen":[{"content":"THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW tomscott.com @tomscott @tomscottgo","location":"bottom left","style":"white text on black background"}]}}],"created_at":"2026-06-24 09:56:56","processed_at":"2026-06-26 14:42:51","view_count":6,"thumbnail":"/data/videos/0e29096f-1b65-451e-bcda-ab6de8533de1/thumbnail.jpg","video":"/data/videos/0e29096f-1b65-451e-bcda-ab6de8533de1/web.mp4","urls":{"page":"/v/why-you-can-t-buy-dasani-water-in-britain","api":"/api/v1/videos/why-you-can-t-buy-dasani-water-in-britain","timeline_file":"/data/videos/0e29096f-1b65-451e-bcda-ab6de8533de1/timeline.json"}}