Moen's Impactful Campaign Fights For People's Rights to Water

Over the last few years, Moen has established its positioning as the hero for beautiful water. As the #1 consumer faucet brand in North America, Moen sees 1.5 trillion gallons of water flow through its products annually. Moen has celebrated water as an incredible force of nature that’s often overlooked. The reality is, water continues to be taken for granted, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Regular handwashing with soap and water is critical to preventing the spread of germs to others, yet 15 million Americans are experiencing water shutoffs, due to the inability to pay. This issue has a disproportionate impact on cities with higher poverty and unemployment rates. In fact, nearly 40% of the US population are vulnerable to shutoffs. As the hero for water, Moen believes that no one should have their water turned off during this historic pandemic. The next coronavirus relief package is under negotiation and will likely go to vote in July. Now is the time to act.

Moen is calling on the public to demand that Congress enforce the human right of water by placing a national moratorium on water shutoffs during the pandemic. In a new campaign created by Havas Chicago, #UnlockWaterForAll, Moen is encouraging people to send a letter to Congress at FoodAndWaterAction.org, urging them to issue a national moratorium on water shutoffs during this time.

In creating the campaign, Havas leaned into the universal human truth that water is a basic right and people with fewer resources are more at risk during the Covid-19 pandemic. To shut off water, is to lock up one of the most important and essential human necessities. Havas’ idea is to unlock water for all. Recognising that as many people are directly impacted by this issue, there are likely many people who are unaware of it, the creative is educational and enlightening with the message - 'Every home has a faucet, but right now, not every home has water.' 

Driving home the message is the visual metaphor of a faucet and sink combined with a lock. The campaign underscores Havas Chicago’s approach of making meaningful content and storytelling that’s based in a simple human truth and brought to life in a clever, artful way. The goal? Get as many people as possible to make their voice heard and successfully influence Congress to take the right action in July.

Mark-Hans Richer, chief marketing and innovation officer, Fortune Brands Global Plumbing Group: “The spread of the coronavirus has become a health, economic and human tragedy that will only be compounded if people don’t have access to water and are unable to follow the recommended precautions. As a leader in the plumbing industry, we have a great responsibility to drive awareness of this issue, educate the public and demand that our elected officials act in the best interests of our local communities and suspend water shutoffs for the millions of Americans who are currently at risk.”

John Norman, chief creative officer, Havas Chicago: “The challenge was awareness. Many people didn’t know about this issue, so we wanted to come up with a striking image that gets people to stop and think about what it’s like to have your water shutoff. Sometimes visual language speaks louder than words. The combined faucet and lock create a powerful, timeless graphic image and visual metaphor of the urgency around water being shut off for people who can’t afford it right now.”