SFX: Upbeat 1980’s music – synthesized
NARRATOR:
With the faces gone, what stands out to you? That feathered hair? The designer jacket? That casual sweater thrown over the shoulder?
Hello, 1980’s. If you lived through that era, or even just watched re-runs from back then, it’s easy to spot the things here that advertise the “Good Life.” Like that curvy glass bottle of French mineral water on the left.
SFX: The hiss of a Perrier cap cracking open, pouring into a glass.
NARRATOR:
Baldessari named this painting “Perrier.” It’s funny to remember that not so long ago, buying bottled water seemed like an absurdly snobbish thing to do. Paying for something you could get for free from your tap? But Perrier wasn’t about thirst. It was about lifestyle.
SFX: Glamorous harp
NARRATOR: And purity.
SFX: Newscast theme
NARRATOR:
For a time, the Food and Drug Administration even used Perrier as a standard in the tests of other water supplies.
NEWSCASTER:
Good evening. Today, the company that made bottled mineral water chic announced it is voluntarily recalling Perrier from store shelves. This comes after the chemical benzene was found in a small sample of bottles in North Carolina. Commenting on the recall, company President Ronald V. Davis said that while there is no significant health risk to the public, the company is committed to public safety.
NARRATOR (coming in over newscast):
That is, until officials found trace amounts of a carcinogen in Perrier’s bottled water. It was a stunning reversal of everyone’s perception. The media dubbed it “The Benzene Crisis of 1990.”
SFX: The news theme fades
Benzene was an invisible danger hidden in a pretty package. So what else aren’t we seeing here?