Odd Advertising

There's always an advert for bottled water at Tin Hau MTR. Sometimes there's several: notably, one where a podgy child is weeping because his mother has given him Bonaqua when he really, really wanted Watson's - but usually Hong Kong eschews that sort of combative advertising.

Otherwise, there'd probably be a sign sponsored by Dr Face saying how Professor Body's Patent Weight Loss Programme bloated you up, or all rivals of Happy Wong baked iron filings in their mooncakes.

But the thing that is confusing me, preying on my mind, driving me to distraction, is not why anyone would use a large Japanese dog molesting a pseudo model in order to promote facials. It's not the omnipresence of the Moomins in a subtropical climate that's wholly unsuitable for their Finnish constitutions. It's not even the question of why the apparent target demographic for Piranha 3D was commuters heading to work at HSBC.

No, I'm wondering exactly who thought there was a marketing synergy to exploit between ...

Between...

Between Cool Water and Saw?

Am I missing something? Does nothing say "cool, refreshing liquid" quite like a series of ridiculously overcomplicated Heath Robinson death machines? Are they making the counterpoint that while it's fine to milk horror franchises beyond the last drop of inspiration, you really should replace some of your dairy intake? And given that water usually sells by stressing its healthy qualities, isn't it a little perverse to align with a horror icon who's been on his deathbed since the first episode?

If that wasn't enough, the actual image they're using seems completely crackers - it's Jigsaw's face, apparently half dissolved in a bottle of Cool Water, like the biggest, grimiest, grumpiest Alka Seltzer known to man. Mmm, tasty Cool Water, now with dissolved Evil Villain!



I went right out and bought three litres.