WATERisLIFE "The Girl Who Couldn't Cry" 1:20 (2014)

Here's a gut-wrenching, depressing spot, with a very interesting twist. Dehydration prevents you from crying, because you can't form tears. Each scenario is based on reality, too. Picking trash, born into a brothel, and living in such harsh realities. As riveting as this spot is, I think it is problematic for two reasons.

The first is, the tone is so unbelievably depressing and the story so sad, the fact the girl doesn't have enough water almost seems secondary to the rest of her life. The about section from Water Is Life explains their mission:

WATERisLIFE provides clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education programs to schools and villages in developing countries. We provide opportunities for others to be involved through fundraising and field project implementation.

Through community driven and community engaged integrated water, sanitation and hygiene programs, WATERisLIFE works closely with Non Government Organizations, local governments and partners to focus on an integrated approach to ensure that households, schools, orphanages, and medical facilities have access to safe water, proper saniation and hygiene programs.

The results of our work change everything. Hours are restored each day – women can use their time to learn a trade, start a business and receive an income. Children can receive an education. Clean water will reduce sickness by almost a third. Clean water saves and transforms lives, and communities.

Sorry but if I'm judging solely on this woman's lot in life, where every decision was pre-determined, by force, the only thing WATERisLIFE will do is provide her with clean drinking water so she can be hydrated and healthy enough to cry.

Secondly, this spot also opens up an inadvertent can of worms. It's not just that these people are poor or that India is lacking in infrastructure that causes a lack of water. This is occurring because of a caste system which discriminates against a large body of people to the point where they are seen as cattle. The only difference is, cattle get something to drink.

Spots like this tend necessarily underrepresent the uphill battle that is fought to overcome cultural and political motivations, not just logistics. I guess you can say that's someone else's battle, but I say the more you know, the more you can better solve a bigger picture problem.

Client: WATERisLIFE
DDB:
Matt Eastwood – Chief Creative Officer
Ed Zazzera – Head of Production
Menno Kluin – Executive Creative Director
Andrew McKechnie - Group Creative Director
Frank Cartagena – ADC/Copy Writer
Sam Shepherd – ADC/Art Director
Nina Horowitz – Assistant Producer
Dany Rothemund - Copywriter
Hannah Liffler - Art Director
Production Company: Central Films North
Director: Rodrigo Garcia Saiz
EP/ Producer: John Barreiro
DP: Beto Casillas
AD: Alfredo Sanchez
Production Service Co: Hundred Frames
EP/ Producer: Prashant Sampat
Editorial Company: No.6
Editor: Amanda Perry
Executive Producer: Deborah Sullivan
Music: Found Objects
Trevor Gureckis - Partner/Composer
Jay Wadley - Partner/Composer
Abby Bernstein - Music Producer
Telecine: Nice Shoes
Colorist: Lez Rudge
Audio: Sound Lounge
Mixer: Tom Jucarone