On Riverside Drive

Nobody drinks plain water anymore

So I'm a little late to the party.

My 20-year-old and I were at the gas station the other day when she ran in to grab us something to drink. My request was for a bottle of water. Instead, she came out with something that was pink in color.

"Excuse me," I said, "I wanted water, not a fruit drink. You know I don't like that sugary stuff."

"This is vitaminwater, Mom," she answered. "It's good for you. Just try it. You'll like it."

I was looking for a bottle of water, not a Life cereal commercial. Plain, clear, water. But since we had already driven away and I was parched, I opened the pinkness.

"Not bad," I thought. It wasn't too sweet, yet had just a tinge of something different and light. As she drove, I read the label.

focus

That was the sub-title of my Glacéau vitaminwater.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" I asked.

"Maybe," my sarcastic offspring retaliated without missing a beat. "Each of the different flavors has a descriptive name explaining the effects of the vitamins that they have put into that drink. The vitamins get into your system a lot faster when they come in a liquid. Some guy got the idea ten years ago, and now it's all the rage. No one drinks plain water anymore."

Well, who woulda thunk it? Nobody drinks plain water anymore.

Whoever this guy was, he was a marketing genius, and a funny ta boot. I continued to read my focus label, a label in which no capital letters are used, except for the company name, GLACÉAU.

focus
kiwi-strawberry

not a lot of singers can rock. and even fewer can roll. once you throw pop in the mix you can forget about it. but, the multi-platinum kelly clarkson pulls off all three like a diner does breakfast, lunch, and dinner. most vocalists couldn't even lip-sync to a set list like hers. so, how does she do it? behind her hazel eyes is some serious focus. she's living proof that with a little concentration you can do anything…catch a fly with chopsticks, solve a sudoku puzzle, or climb the corporate ladder, just stay off the top of the charts - that's kelly's territory.

vitamins + water = all you need

for best results, stick it in the fridge.

the inside is natural, the outside is plastic.

Kelly Clarkson, eh? I continued to read on, focusing on the nutritional facts - sure enough, there were a lot of vitamins in the bottle - A, C, B3, B6, B12, and B5. It also contained something called Lutein. Lutein is a natural antioxidant belonging to the carotenoid family. It is present in high concentration in the retina where it is believed to protect against oxidative damage that can contribute to age related macular degeneration and other chronic eye diseases.

Aha. Now I know why she bought me focus. I was still on the mend from my ulcerated cornea.

All I could think was, if I can get 20/10 vision and be as successful as Kelly Clarkson, I'm going to drink vitaminwater by the case! Who knew life could be this simple!

Textbook cross marketing, and brilliant. Glacéau has hooked up with a bunch of athletes and celebrities to advertise the many benefits of drinking the stuff. Chicago Bears Brian Urlacher (also an investor in the company) wore a vitaminwater baseball cap at the Super Bowl this past year, and was fined $100,000 for it not being an NFL sanctioned sponsor. The $100,000 was a drop in the bucket in exchange for the media attention the fine got them. Rapper 50 Cent also has his own flavor called formula 50, which is specially formulated with 50% of the daily value of seven important vitamins. Clever.

According to their corporate mission, Glacéau's purpose is to provide you with responsible hydration options that are natural, free of sodium, artificial sweeteners, chemical preservatives and other ingredients that are hard to pronounce.

And, they are doing it while they make me laugh.

Off to revive - a fruit punch flavor with potassium, whose label says:

if you woke up tired, you probably need more sleep. if you woke up drooling at your desk, you probably need a new job. if you woke up with a headache, on a ferris wheel at the idaho state fair, wearing a toga, you probably need answers, not to mention this product.

it's got potassium and b vitamins to help you recover and feel refreshed - kinda like in those old irish spring® commercials.

and if you're like our boss, mike, and woke up married to an elvis impersonator, you probably need a lawyer.

Anything for a laugh. One thing's for sure - I'm not going to drink just plain water anymore.
 

Karin Housley is a realtor in the St. Croix Valley, a Wednesday Valley Life columnist and hosts a weekly radio show every Saturday morning at 9:00 on AM 1220 KLBB - or listen live via the web at klbbradio.com. You can email her at karin@karinhousley.com or visit her website at www.karinhousley.com.