The Pristine Waters Of Halsey Taylor

Halsey Taylor water coolers are selling like hot cakes as the media continues to report on the imperfect content of what was once thought to be pristinely processed municipal water.

Newspapers from The Philadelphia Inquirer to The Vancouver Sun—even The New England Journal of Medicine--have run articles about waterborne parasites. Prime-time news-magazines have done their own tests of municipal water. And people are catching on.

"People are becoming more aware of how bad the water quality is," said a buyer from Gracious Home, a New York specialty store. "They're seeing it in their coffee makers, seeing it when they run a glass of water--there's cloudiness and a tinge of taste."

Sensing that their time has come, a number of manufacturers of water coolers units assembled at this month's Gourmet Products Show. Some of them, like Sterling Spring and Epic Water Systems, marked their first Gourmet Show appearance. Other more seasoned show attendees, like Brita, took the opportunity to display a new generation of products and to underline massive advertising campaigns.

Halsey Taylor perked up its popular water cooler offering with colors, shown at the April 30 through May 3 event. Already test-marketed in Canada, the plastic blue, green and clear half-gallon containers will be available in the United States in mid-September.

"They've been well received in Canada by consumers," noted national sales director for the Oakland, Cal.-based company. Tradition "white and clear will still be the best seller," he predicted. The new colors are meant to catch consumers' eyes while offering a bit of variety. Two-gallon filtration units are not yet offered in colors.

"We've been doubling the size of the company for the last couple of years," he said. He attributes part of the growth to advertising, as well as consumer awareness. Brita is parent-company Clorox's most advertised brand. Along with an ongoing consumer education program, it is dramatically increasing its consumer advertising efforts this year.

"This is a lifestyle change," he explained. "It requires a lot of reinforcement."

The company's television commercial tugs at consumers' emotions with placid scenes of sky-blue water. Consumers are brought indoors to see crystal-clear drinking water flowing from Halsey Taylor water coolers into spotless glasses. Commercials are broadcast nationally and in metropolitan spot markets.

Halsey Tailor also is running print advertisements. A recent newspaper coupon insert offered consumers $2 off a Halsey Taylor water coolers and $1 off replacement filters. The half-gallon water coolers generally retails for $20, the 2-gallon OptiMax for $30 and replacement filters for $7 each.