Water Wally
Water Wally is the name of the official Singapore Public Utilities Board (PUB) mascot. Water Wally is blue in colour and shaped like a water droplet.[1] Water Wally conveys messages about water conservation and usage to the public.[2]
Contents
Mascot Unveiling
Water Wally was unveiled by Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources at an official launch held at MacRitchie Reservoir in 2005.[2]
In a two-week “teaser” campaign leading up to the official unveiling, thirty three-metre-high Water Wally inflatable balloons were displayed suspended above various reservoirs and canals around Singapore.[3] A “Where’s Wally”-inspired contest to spot the mascot was publicized in national newspapers, receiving over two thousand SMS and email entries.[4][5] Five of the inflatables were reported as having gone missing during the campaign.[6]
Water Wally as a Publicity Tool
Singapore's Public Utilities Board aims for Water Wally to put a “face” to water management issues which the public, and children in particular, can relate to.[5] Water Wally is prominent in a wide range of PUB publicity materials and souvenirs, including toys, T-shirts, calendars and posters[5][7] At the 2007 Singapore National Day Parade (NDP) Water Wally was featured in 5 different commemorative NEWater bottle designs and tattoos included in the free NDP fun pack given to all attendants.[8][9] The mascot also makes appearances at talks in schools and libraries.[10][11]
Television Series
A nine-episode short animated series featuring Water Wally entitled "'The Adventures of Water Wally” was telecast on MediaCorp's okto channel from January 23 to February 14 2009.[12] The episodes were also made available online at www.pub.gov.sg/waterwally.[12]
Controversy
Water Wally, in a promotional video 'The Water Wally Shower Dance', shows Water Wally dancing to a rap, reminding children and adults to keep their showers under five minutes. The Ad in the form of 'a Gangnam-style wannabe video’ has Neitzens up in arms.
The latest video also drew flak for a scene where Water Wally walks in as a boy was showering, with some netizens making comments that it was inappropriate and comparing Wally to a "paedophile". Apparently Water Willy has a habit of barging into toilets for the wrong reasons. In the ‘Adventures of Water Wally’ cartoon, the perky little droplet charged into a forest latrine to turn off running showers and taps in the episode ‘Camp H20′.
References
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ [2]
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 [PUB's PURE Annual Report 2008. http://www.pub.gov.sg/pureannual2008/channels_of_communication.htm]
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ [PUB Press Release "Good flow of adopters for PUB’s Our Waters programme" 09 Jan 2006. http://www.pub.gov.sg/mpublications/Pages/PressReleases.aspx?ItemId=157]
- ↑ [PUB Press Release "NEWater - the Toast of the Nation at NDP 2007" 4 July 2007. http://www.pub.gov.sg/mpublications/Pages/PressReleases.aspx?ItemId=82]
- ↑ [4]
- ↑ [PUB Press Release "Good flow of adopters for PUB’s Our Waters programme" 09 Jan 2006. http://www.pub.gov.sg/mpublications/Pages/PressReleases.aspx?ItemId=157]
- ↑ [PUB's PURE Annual Report 2009. http://www.pub.gov.sg/annualreport2009/pub_action_waterwally.html]
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
