What better way to start your Monday than with a time-wasting, goofy game! Just for you, our own version of Mad Libs…the “Water Utility Customer Service Call!”
It’s ready for you to play with a buddy or all by yourself! If you’re not familiar with how to play MadLibs (where have YOU been?) you can read some quick instructions here.
If you’re so inclined, please share with us the hilarity that ensues. We’ll keep your identity a secret, promise!
http://thirstyinsuburbia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/madlibswaterguy.jpg126139Gayle Leonardhttp://thirstyinsuburbia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/tis-2015-header1-433x80-300x55.jpgGayle Leonard2010-10-03 20:11:152017-09-25 15:36:17Let’s Play Mad Libs: Water Utility Customer Service Call
Those witty folks at Yorkshire Water UK are at it again, with time with a kooky campaign centered on two thrifty Grannies. “Edna and Mary” urge us to “Look ‘ow much you get for your money!” and are backed by a spot on the telly, their own corner of “t’interweb,” and of course, Twitter and Facebook.
It’s a wide stream of slapstick silliness surrounding know-it-all Edna and disheveled Mary. But grounding it all is the fact that Grannies everywhere will definitely be paying a lot more for water in the future. It’s no joke that many people don’t comprehend the huge (and escalating) costs and complex infrastructure required to deliver the cheap, clean tap water we take for granted. From the video’s YouTube page,
Research has highlighted to us that nearly 40% of our customers don’t know what they get for their money when it comes to their water bill. It’s important to us that our customers understand what they get for their money so we’ve launched this latest campaign to explain where your money goes.
The website is loaded with campy jokes and stereotypical dialogue which sometimes goes a bit too far; despite this, the two frugal frumps are a gateway to a lot of valuble, concise information, like “How do we spend your money?” or “how we collect and treat your water.”
YouTube commenters have quickly piled on with the expected criticisms, mostly on the theme of you’re wasting the public’s money on this stupid campaign and advertising.
A mentor of mine once told me, “If you’re not being criticized, you’re not making progress.” He was right.
http://thirstyinsuburbia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/edna-mary1-yorkshire-water.jpg150205Gayle Leonardhttp://thirstyinsuburbia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/tis-2015-header1-433x80-300x55.jpgGayle Leonard2010-04-07 22:51:512017-09-27 10:43:16The Value of Water, Explained by Two Grannies
Numptee is the charmingly clueless character starring in Yorkshire (UK) Water’s new public education campaign, “Bin it, don’t flush it.”
You can’t help but smile at his silly antics though they spotlight a serious problem: sewer blockages and flooding, half of which are caused by Numptee and his buds putting inappropriate items down the drain. From campaign headquarters at yorkshirewater.com,
Numptee, did you just put that cooking fat down the sink?
Yorkshire’s sewers are being abused and it’s causing all kinds of problems. You wouldn’t believe some of the things we find down the sewer – nappies, false teeth, fat, Christmas trees and even a Spacehopper! As funny as that sounds, all of these things can cause the sewer to stop working and this can lead to flooding.
Hmmm, are we talking about you? You might be a “Numptee” if:
you’re one of the 40% of people who dump fats, oils and grease down the sink
you’re among the 25% who think it’s OK to put items like cotton buds, nappies or sanitary products down the toilet.
Now, Numptee’s handlers at Yorkshire Water aren’t idiots so naturally the campaign is multi-media and backed by numerous social-media channels. You can follow the red-lipped phenom on Twitter (@MrNumptee) because…
By following Mr Numptee on twitter you’ll be able to see if we are dishing the dirt in your neighbourhood and take a sneaky peak at some of the unusual things that block up our sewers – yes that’s right we really do find strange things down there including one particular problem with knickers!!!
Where's Numptee Jr.'s dirty nappie headed?
If you’re like me, you don’t want to miss a single episode on Yorkshire Water’s YouTube channel. Contest-entering types can give their creative interpretations of exactly what kind of creature Numptee is (see the WIN tab) with top entries receiving cinema tickets, where…that’s right, Numptee trailers will be playing!
I found a lot of interesting information on the campaign’s web pages, including a neat tip to make “Bird Cakes” out of waste fats (the recipe is here.)
Numptee? Bin there, done that. You: don’t do it.
*Britspeak Glossary for Americans!
Bin: Trash can Cotton Buds: Q-tips or cotton swabs Knickers: underwear Nappie: Diaper Numptee: Dolt, or idiot Spacehopper: Child’s sit-on bouncing toy
http://thirstyinsuburbia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/tis-2015-header1-433x80-300x55.jpg00Gayle Leonardhttp://thirstyinsuburbia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/tis-2015-header1-433x80-300x55.jpgGayle Leonard2009-10-01 18:57:542009-10-09 18:42:06Are you a Numptee?
