Global plastic consumption is still spiralling out of control. Cano Water, the UK’s leading brand of canned water provides a sustainable alternative to plastic bottles. But how to convince more Brits to let go of single use plastic. Agency, 10 Days London, drew attention by using the popularity of watching hypnosis in action. 10 Days and Cano Water hypnotised people to end their reliance on plastic water bottles.
10 Days London co-founder, Jolyon White, commented, “People hate single use plastic but keep using it. So we realised we needed to get to the very subconscious of people through…hypnosis of course. At the same time, bring out the entertaining side.”
The entertaining video aims take social media by storm. Professional hypnotist, Damien O’Brien, puts four random plastic-loving members of the public under his spell, in a comedic hypnotherapy session. With humorous prompts guiding them to reject plastic and embrace recyclable aluminium cans, their impassioned reactions from utter fear and hatred to unrestrained joy, aim to entertain while delivering a serious message.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. We wanted an idea insane enough to grab attention but smart enough to drive home a serious message,” stated Josh White, Cano Water co-founder. “Our aim is to have people laughing in disbelief while simultaneously reconsidering their own plastic use.”
While humorous in tone, Cano notes that the UK’s dependence on plastic is no joke. Global plastic waste already exceeds manageable levels, and the vast majority ends up polluting landfills and oceans forever. But Cano offers hope in the form of infinitely recyclable aluminium cans, the superior choice for uncoupling consciously from plastic, with higher recycling rates and less environmental impact on our oceans.
Cano’s Hypnotherapy stunt, that launched on social media October 26, is the latest phase in their ongoing #BreakUpWithPlastic movement. Cano hopes the video will spark a mass intervention, empowering people to end toxic relationships with single-use plastic for good.