Sugababes singer Mutya Buena has taken part in a tongue-in-cheek stunt for DASH Water, which ended up with Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg blaming the girl group for the nation’s sweet tooth.
Created in partnership with viral production agency Goon Squad productions, the stunt began with Buena taking to Instagram to apologise for accidentally promoting sugar simply by being part of the band.
“We made people think sugar was cool, but it really, really isn’t,” said Buena, addressing her 190,000 followers. “Sugar is definitely not cool and now I can confirm that I am a changed woman. I hope you can find it indoor hearts to forgive me, but once again, I am truly, truly sorry.”
The stunt then levelled up when Dash Water hired an undercover actor to speak to Jacob Rees-Mogg about the Sugababes’ potential problem.
The actor said: “Having a group of young women who appeal to young people being called the Sugababes and glamourising sugar in this way could really be contributing to the consumption of sugar.”
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He continued: “It seems to be slightly irresponsible to have something named ‘Sugababes’ in this day and age. People will start to look back at the Sugababes in the way they looked at the Marlboro men, the cigarette babes…”
After being shown an “absolutely not fake” graph, Rees-Mogg thanked Dash Water for bringing the issue to him. The MP said he had never heard of the Sugababes, but found the (fake) report “fascinating”, adding that the topic was “relevant and important” “I think the question is what can you actually do about it?”
Just a day later Dash Water owned up to the stunt, saying: “If you’re sitting there scratching your head as to why Mutya Buena posted that apology video yesterday… it may or may not have something to do with us.”
While it centres humour, the campaign also tackles a very central tenet of DASH’s mission; to help shine a light on the sweeteners which are hidden in many of the UK’s more popular ‘sugar-free drinks’.
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“We are so grateful for Mutya and Jacob for getting involved in our campaign. The tide is finally turning on sugary and artificial ‘healthy’ soft drinks full of sweeteners, with the WHO bringing to light the impact that sweeteners can have on our health,” said DASH co-founder Jack Scott.
He continued: “Dash Water is at the forefront of a new wave of healthy soft drinks and we will continue to do everything in our power to educate consumers about sugar and artificial sweeteners – even if that means hiring an undercover actor to present the idea to Jacob Rees-Mogg.”
Commenting on her involvement in the campaign Sugababes star Mutya Buena said: “I’ve been a fan of Dash Water for a while, so when they approached me for this campaign I knew I couldn’t turn it down.”
“It’s safe to say that I never expected that my role in the brand would lead to me being involved in campaigns like this, but it was so much fun to be part of and it felt like the best partnership to bring DASH’s mission to life.”
