A Towering Thirst
Monday we held a press conference announcing a new product that will help fund scholarships at UT. H2Orange is a new brand of purified Texas water that’s packaged in a bottle shaped like the UT Tower.
This is the first time the Tower has been licensed for a consumable product.
I know a lot of you are concerned about the environment. H2Orange is packaged in bottles made from 100% recyclable plastic, and carbon credits have been purchased through Green Mountain Energy to offset energy used in H2Orange’s manufacturing and transportation. The company has vowed to keep up with advances in technology to make sure that the product is packaged in the most environmentally friendly way.
Steve Gurasich, Tim McClure, and Bill Powers
The product is the inspiration of alumnus Tim McClure, who developed the idea in collaboration with his colleague and fellow alumnus Steve Gurasich. Tim and Steve are the “G” and “M” in the celebrated Austin advertising agency, GSD&M. They’re the folks who brought you “Don’t Mess With Texas” and other memorable messages.
Every bottle of H2Orange purchased will help reach our goal of raising $1 million annually for scholarships for the next 10 years and beyond.
H2Orange goes on sale next month.
Architect Paul Cret designed the Tower in the 1930s with the intention that it become “the image carried in our memory when we think of the place.” Because the Tower is such a powerful symbol of the University, we are careful about the ways we depict it. I believe using it to fund scholarships is appropriate.
In 1998, Coach Mack Brown asked Longhorn fans to: “Come early, stay late, be loud, wear orange.” I think H2Orange will build on that tradition with its own slogan:
Hook ’em, Horns!
If you haven’t received word yet, Mr. Powers, not everyone is delighted to hear about this idea. We support our university so that it may continue to help fix the world’s problems, not exacerbate them. I urge the University of Texas to withdraw from this effort. There are a plethora of ideas more responsible than this. Help guide the University in being a leader and role model in responsible business practices, and to continue to be the change in the world we want to see.
Hi, Josh–
In case *you* haven’t received word yet, Tower Talk is not intended as a forum for ideas except those in lock step with Administration. Criticism of such matters as a profusion of non-degradable containers that may last for millions of years, or a base salary for a coach that is about 20 times that of UT’s brightest professors, or chicanery related to the athletics budget, or lip service to an Ombudsperson for staff without funding or supporting a genuinely objective voice for the staff, or laying off staff just to make others fear for their jobs, or salary increases that will come in a lump sum this fall to avoid having to list actual UT salaries as required by state law (the Texas Tribune and the University of Virginia have begun posting UT salaries online, so you don’t have to go to the budget office and have your name on a list), or continuing use of an expensive private aircraft to destinations such as Love Field and Hobby Airport served by commercial airlines (contrary to the intent for using that aircraft), or administrators who want to kill one of the town’s most cherished institutions so that they can get a big raise. . .we’re not supposed to remark on such things. The Emperor is fully clothed.
Very excited to attend a university that combines innovation, passion for the environment, and school spirit!