Clean Me A River

Tired of the numerous throw-it-away-immediately handouts you get and the many annoying commercials on your phone or television? Beauty brand Shokubutsu HANA introduces a more interesting way of advertising: a purifying water billboard floating on a river. This billboard, made out of grass, actually cleans the polluted water of the river, conveying the message “Clean River Soon”.

The letters of the billboard in Manila’s Pasig River are made of vetiver, a long-lasting type of grass which can absorb toxic materials and endure high levels of nitrates, phosphates and heavy metals. The grass is often applied to reduce the pollution of wastewater. Thanks to this specific ability, the HANA water billboard can clean around 8,000 to 30,000 liters water per day.

The personal care brand Shokubutsu Hana believes in healthy beauty by the restorative power of nature. This message is being conveyed to consumers by means of this purifying billboard. The advertisement is also used to persuade people not to throw their garbage in the water. Nowadays, people are becoming more and more conscious of the importance of a healthy environment. Hopefully the concept of giving back to nature, the trend of restorative advertising, will be taken over by other agencies as well.

The purifying billboard was created in February 2014 through the collaboration of Shokubutsu Hana, The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, Vetiver Farms Philippines and advertising agency TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno. It is the first water billboard in the Philippines, but there are more to be realized in the Pasig River; a clean prospective for the river!