Y&R NY's Talking Fountain Prank Spouts Water & Lots of Personality

Today, Y&R New York and VML New York are publicly unveiling the Drink Up Fountain for the Partnership for a Healthier America’s Drink Up effort -- the initiative that encourages people to drink more water more often. What started in the Y&R office as a microcontroller and two alligator clips has evolved into a talking water fountain that is activated by the touch of human lips to water!

Here’s how it works: The Drink Up Fountain looks like a sleek, steel fountain and dispenses water at the push of a button. The magic happens when a drinker’s lips touch the water, thereby completing the circuit and triggering the technology inside of the fountain to “talk.” The Drink Up Fountain spouts a variety of entertaining greetings and statements intended to entice the drinker to continue sipping. When a drinker pulls his or her head away, the voice will stop, and the fountain will only resume speaking if the person continues to drink. This should hopefully encourage users to Drink Up – and to #spreadthewater!