Rethink Your Drink

Beaches up and down the Atlantic seaboard have a plastic problem, and it usually starts with a hot, thirsty person who forgot their water bottle. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean, working with state and regional partners, decided to meet that person at the water fountain instead of lamenting their choices after the fact.

The result was a series of refill station signs installed from North Carolina to New York, each one designed to give beachgoers a reason to feel good about doing the right thing. The turtle speaks for itself, literally. The sand dollar reminds you that refilling saves $1,400 a year, which is a pretty compelling argument regardless of how you feel about the ocean. The family on the beach makes the personal health case: every disposable bottle you drink delivers a side of microplastics you didn't order.

None of the signs lecture. All of them say thank you. It turns out that's more persuasive than a guilt trip, and considerably more pleasant to read while you're filling up your water bottle on a hot day. Each sign also included a QR code directing beachgoers to rethinkyourdrink.org for more information.

The campaign identity, including the "fresh filtered free" and "fresh ecofriendly free" logos, was designed to accommodate fountains with and without filtration systems, a small but meaningful distinction when the whole point is to tell the truth.

Produced in partnership with Opinion Works on behalf of MARCO and state and regional partners.