Bounty Paper Towels: "The One-Sheet Clean Picker Upper"

      We are college students, stay at home moms, and travelers.  What is one thing that we all have in common? We all use paper towels on a daily basis. Below we have three ads showcasing Bounty’s promotion of only using “one sheet” for every job, no matter how messy it is. Not only does the “one sheet” slogan portray their product as more efficient; it also makes Bounty towels seem better for the environment.

           
       Although this first image does not contain any text, it is a screenshot from a 1970’s Bounty commercial advertising their towels as superior and being able to absorb a lot of liquid. The commercial was filmed within a restaurant, shaping the identity of the consumer to be housewives and waitresses trying to keep their areas as clean as they can. Through suspending a coffee mug on a damp towel, they showed how strong one sheet was and that you only need to use one for multiple spills. The commercial also relies on constant mentioning of how strong and durable their product is; whether it is being used in a restaurant or at home.

           
       The text of both of these modern Bounty ads stress that you only need to use one sheet when cleaning up messes and that their product is “green”, but the reality is much different. As Strasser states in her work Waste and Want, ”the selling points of modern products [are] styling, technological superiority, convenience, and cleanliness – all amounted to arguments for disposing of things rather than seeking ways to reuse them” (9). The advertisement on the right is taken directly from the Bounty website and is aimed towards people who are lazy and rely on such convenience. This deliver service is very hypocritical and ironic because Bounty keeps saying that you will use less material with their product. But if you get it shipped to you, even more of your waste will end up in a landfill! You’re using the box, the Styrofoam, the paper towel packaging, and then finally the paper towel itself! This delivering method may persuade consumers to buy Bounty because they don’t have to leave their house but at the same time it is downright ridiculous due to all the instant trash created. It is a merely an illusion that Bounty is “greener”. Here’s a real “green” solution to these paper towels: instead of Bounty, just use a real towel for 10 years rather than for only 10 seconds.

-Cooper Leith, Jake Ruttenberg, Greta Zableckas