User:Smallman12q/fiji

It's Not Bottled In Cleveland Campaign
In 2006, Fiji Water ran a print ad campaign stating, "The Label Says Fiji Because It's Not Bottled in Cleveland."

Officials in the city of Cleveland responded by running tests,comparing Fiji's bottled water to Cleveland's own tap water. The tests revealed that Fiji bottled water contains 6.3 micrograms of arsenic per liter, while the city's tap water has none.

Fiji Water's Cleveland ad has now become one of the most used points when pointing out negative aspects of the bottled water industry.

CNNMoney called this campaign one of the 101 dumbest moments in business of the year.

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The ad, whose punch line was "The label says Fiji because it's not bottled in Cleveland" described Fiji water as: FIJI Water is only found in one of the most remote places on the planet, thousands of miles from the nearest industrialized continent, at the very edge of a primitive rainforest. OUr water begins as rain, purified by equatorial trade winds after traveling thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean. Once it arrives in Fiji, it filters through volcanic rock over hundreds of years. During this process, FIJI Water collects life-essential minerals, like silica, and finally gathers in a natural artesian aquifer, where it is preserved and protected from external elements.

A blind-taste test by NewsChannel5 found Cleveland tap water was preferred.

Edward Cochran stated that company tests found lower levels of arsenic than those reported by Cleveland, and questioned the validity of the city's findings which were not conducted by a third party.

The negative environmental impact of shipping from Fiji.

Fiji President, John Edward Cochran, who is originally from the Cleveland suburb of Bay Village, Ohio stated he thought the idea would make people laugh.

Following the initial campaign, Fiji Water sent an apologetic e-mail to those who had complained stating "In fact, the advertising was designed to be humorous, but since it clearly didn't meet its goal, we have decided not to use it in the future." The e-mail also stated that "we have been selling FIJI water for over 6 years and we have every reason to believe that the test results quoted in the press are inaccurate and alarmist" and that "for each of the past 6 years, FIJI Water has been independently tested by third-party, highly renowned water testing laboratories as part of our rigorous quality control protocols and these results cast significant doubt over the quoted findings."

The ad was to run through 2006 and was cancelled.