There’s been a lot of buzz around the Brazilian public service campaign “Pee in the Shower” (or Xixi no Banho). As far as I can tell, the campaign was created by Saatchi & Saatchi and features both TV and web. (It was featured on FWA as Site of the Day over a month ago.) The idea is that if you pee while in the shower, as opposed to finishing your shower and using the toilet like normal, the average household can save 4,380 liters (that’s 1,157 gallons for us US folk). Saving water saves the rain forest. Sounds like a good plan, and the ads have gone viral (you’ve probably seen them online somewhere by now, right?) And it makes a very valid point – as soon as I get in the shower with the water running, I get that urge. But still, there’s a lot of negative feedback.
There are lots of people giving really negative feedback, through blog post and comments. Many claim it’s gross. Why? Why is urinating into a drain filthy, when the water is running away from you. (Yet somehow soaking in your own filth in a bath is totally fine.) Besides, the slogan is “Pee in the Shower” and not “Pee on your Leg.” Urine is actually sterile, and is harmless unless you have certain serious health issues, such as hepatitis. Another sad thing I’ve seen is a lot of people making derogatory remarks against Brazilians, calling them dirty and disgusting. Seriously, that’s really disturbing.
Besides, I think people might be missing the point. I doubt that the main goal of the campaign is to get people to actually pee in the shower. If you do, that’s great, but what the message here is that even little changes can add up and make a difference. Think about it, how insignificant is peeing in the shower, yet doing so saves you flush, and those flushes ad up. Tiny actions eventually add up. Turn off lights when you’re not in the room, turn the AC off when you’re out, we’ve all heard this before – this is just the first time we seen it presented in a such an effective or creative way. It’s a way to spread the message. So go ahead, pee in the shower, it’ll help save the rain forest. Plus, it’s fun…
hah. Interesting blog post.
However, you’re missing one vital problem: doesn’t peeing in the shower make your shower smell like urine whenever you run it? Even if there was water to run it down the drain, there would still be urine residue that would be left over, creating a urine odor.. I can’t imagine that it would smell too great..
I don’t think that would be a problem unless you pissed all over the place, which can happen time to time if you’re drunk
I loved this site, the animations are so well executed and the letterings are awesome.
I’m not going to start “peeing in the shower” because of it but I always try to waste as less resources as possible…
There’s a video explaining how the recycling works in São Paulo – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUl6uy6eIDc – they recycle almost 100% of the aluminum and a good part of paper, plastic and steel..
I think you’re right about this website making people think about other stuffs that could make a difference.
obs: the problem isn’t take a pee in the shower while you’re drunk, the problem is to take a pee in the supermarket ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AwBbreJ1yc )
Nice post as always.
I’ll soon start the “pee in your backyard” campaign. It’s even more eco-friendly: you use no water at all, and, err, give something back to the planet.