World Vision Dirty Water Online

World Vision UK has an online campaign making the connection between access to clean water and addressing poverty. A disturbing video shows a middle class Western family blithely washing, drinking and playing in dirty diseased water, an unthinkable reality today. Viewers are confronted with the reality that 1.1 billion people have no choice but to drink dirty water.

A voiceover provides the context…. “Today 1.1 billion people will have no choice but to drink dirty water. Thanks to an accident of birth, you’re not one of them. But what if you were? If you had to wash the dishes with it, bathe in it, drink it – and ask yourself this question-if you had to give dirty to those you love knowing it could kill them, would you?”

“Historically, poverty and with it the diseases that confound the attempts of poor people to lift themselves out of poverty, have always been more prevalent in water-scarce areas. Lack of water has always made poverty worse by narrowing choices. But, so too, the transformative power of water in the lives of communities is unparalleled. In nineteenth century inner-city England, safe water and sanitation stimulated the regeneration of squalid inner-city dwellings, reducing infant mortality rates and improving adult health.

In developing communities in the 21st century, improved access to safe water sources increases life expectancy and opens up choices- the choice to pursue an education or economic opportunities, the choice to participate in community activities, which enhance community cohesion. The choice to strive for positive social change. That’s why water is at the heart of World Vision’s work in water-scarce communities.”

Click on the image below to play the video.

Credits

The Dirty Water campaign was created at Meteorite, London, by copywriter Dan Douglass, art director Gavin McKinnon-Little.

Filming was shot by director Ronnie West via RSA Films with producer Rob Wills.

Post production was done at Rushes by colourist Adrian Seery, VFX Flame artist Rufus Blackwell and producer Sophie Elmy.