Water is a necessity. Can it also be desirable? That’s the pitch of flavored-water brand Hint’s new campaign, “Mmmmm Water,” which draws inspiration from luxury and fragrance advertising for a surprisingly sexed-up take for the category, Allison Cullman, Hint’s SVP, head of marketing, told us. “We wanted to make water look like something that you crave, not something that you rationally should drink,” Cullman said. “Think slow-motion water pouring, overflowing from mouths, very exaggerated and hyperbolic, but still elevated.” It’d be easy to mistake the first few seconds for something else—the cinematography, set design, soundtrack, and acting choices are all tonally aligned with a traditional fragrance or luxury ad. The ads, by creative agency Mythology and directed by Zach Tavel, poke fun at those tonal choices once it’s revealed that it’s an ad for water. That’s especially true in the 60-second spot, which starts with black-and-white cinematography and changes to color at the point of the big reveal. The decision to push desire over function offers a point of differentiation for the brand amid a boom in health and wellness marketing, where hydration is an increasingly crowded subcategory. “What we see today is that wellness is a lot of work, and work is no fun,” Cullman said. “There’s so much monitoring and biohacking and devices and supplements and so many functional things that are fighting for your attention. It’s overwhelming…We are emotional human beings. Our brains are wired to chase desire, not discipline. We operate on want, not should.” Read more here.—KM | 
