Eco-brand GabiH2O partners with Nickelodeon UK to develop UK's first animated content for TV teaching children to be smarter about waterYou can visit Nickelodeon UK's official "Gabi H2O" website, where you can watch a video of 'Gabi's Rap', play Gabi The Camel's "Water Warrior" game, view great water conservation tips on how to save water, download exclusive "Gabi H2O" downloads, including a "Have Fun With Gabi" activity book and a MP3 of 'Gabi's Rap', view a range of great GabiH2O products, such a a set of Gabi H2O Trump Cards, a home water and energy saving kit, GabiH2O water bottles, and a GabiH2O musical toothbrush, and find out how to download GabiH2O's "Tap The Tap" iPhone game (app) here on Nickelodeon UK's official websites official GabiH2O website here at Nick.co.uk/GabiH2O.
Hosepipe bans across parts of England, flash flooding, water shortages, wildlife at risk. But whose fault is it? Can't be ours, surely? The blame bandwagon: it's always someone else's fault. Whether it's the water companies, the government, lack of investment, short-term gain over long-term planning – it's always someone else who is to blame.
However the simple facts are that we all take water for granted. The current drought and announcement of hosepipe bans has just brought this home to us all. The UK now has a serious problem. Unbelievably, even with the recent heavy rain, London, per capita, has less water than the Sudan, Edinburgh has the same rainfall as Istanbul and Manchester gets only half the rainfall of Sydney. Each of us, on average, uses about 150 litres of water per day. We are used to treating water as a commodity that is infinite. Yet the truth is, unless we start to use our water more wisely, we face the prospect of continuing, long-term water shortages and hosepipe bans. Innovative eco-brand, GabiH2O, believe it's time that we started to look at how we can all cut demand by reducing water wastage, and takes a uniquely innovative and fun approach to influencing the lifestyle changes needed to encourage reductions in water consumption. GabiH2O, believe that we need to change our attitudes to water. Instead of playing the blame game, we need to take personal responsibility.
With this in mind, GabiH2O today announces a partnership with Nickelodeon UK involving the development and airing of the UK's first on-air animated character to teach children to be smarter about water. With parts of the UK facing the worst drought in 36 years and hosepipe bans already in place, the timing could not be more appropriate.
GabiH2O founder, Avi Djanogly believes that this begins with educating children, hence GabiH2O's original use of cartoon characters, centred around the main character, a Nubian camel called Gabi, to convey the key messages on water usage. Gabi and his gang of thirteen characters offer children tips on how to be smarter about water usage e.g. switching taps off when brushing their teeth, taking a five-minute shower or using leftover water to water plants.
Gabi the camel comes to life as a 3D animated character which launches today on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons in 60 and 30-second educational advertorials, featuring Gabi interacting in a live action spot with real kids and providing top tips on water conservation, against an original rap. Supporting the on-air activity will be an interactive and appealing experience on a bespoke microsite, http://www.nick.co.uk/gabih20 (which goes live on 11th May) to drive home the message that saving water is vital. A brand new Gabi game will provide a fun way for kids to learn top tips to prevent water wastage. The Gabi microsite will also include Gabi's top ten water saving tips, video clips, fun downloads and lots of Gabi goodies for kids to win, including an activity book, Gabibag, singing toothbrush and Gabi trump cards. A clip of the GabiH2O advertorial on Nickelodeon can be viewed on the microsite from Monday 14th May.
Minister, Richard Benyon, said: "I'm really impressed by the engagement with children, and the use of water as a medium for learning. It's an incredibly powerful tool. I want to make sure that across government we are supporting this kind of initiative."
Avi Djanogly comments, "Teaching children not to take water for granted but to value what comes out of the tap is undoubtedly the key to a sustainable future and smarter use of water. We need to reach out to and engage with as many kids as possible, to get our message across. So how do we do this? The answer is that we explain the problem to kids on their level and we educate them about the problem. Once they understand, children are the best educators. Parents listen to their children. That's why we believe in 'Edutainment', which is a great way to convey these messages to children in a fun and vibrant way and vicariously to reach their parents. By capturing their imaginations, we can change behaviour willingly and gradually, so we are very excited to be producing this ground-breaking educational advertorial with Nickelodeon."
But GabiH2O is not just an awareness building brand. Their experts have also developed a whole range of water-saving devices – in particular, their new Slimline showerhead. "We wanted style combined with performance" says Avi Djanogly, founder of GabiH2O, "yet our showerhead also saves water! It is designed to deliver an optimum 7.6 litres every minute, as opposed to water wasters that deliver 12, 15 or even 25 litres."
Every aspect of the Slimline showerhead has been created to enhance the water-saving experience. It has been designed to provide good shower performance and, ultimately, to save water and energy. Harnessing the energy in air and water, it creates high velocity water inside the head of the showerhead itself, forcing air to mix with water. Thus, less water is used but the flow is not diminished and you can still enjoy a fantastic shower experience.
To engage children's interest further in the water-saving experience, GabiH2O have also developed a childrens' water saving kit based around the cartoon character, Gabi the Camel (who better to teach the art of water saving?).
Avi Djanogly comments: “With the help of Waterwise, the leading authority in the UK on water efficiency focused on decreasing water consumption, we put together a kids' water saving kit. This includes: a 'stop the gush when you brush' singing toothbrush; a folding watering can with five water saving tips and trump cards highlighting water wasters and savers, including energy tips. These are just some of the highlights in the kit, as well as the GabiH2O app, which is also great fun for kids. I believe that it's time to make water saving fun and we want to get the message across that 'everyone oughta save water'!”
Small changes in the way we use water can impact and benefit the world, our world. GabiH2O’s research shows that if we just cut our average use of water from 150 litres of water a day to 130 litres that will benefit the environment hugely. And it doesn't have to be a huge sacrifice. If we just turn off the water when we brush our teeth, take a five minute shower or fill the dishwasher and washing machine to capacity, we will make major savings in water, energy and money.
Jacob Tompkins, MD of Waterwise, said: “The GabiH2O Slimline showerhead can reduce shower water use by about 30 litres per shower, saving the average household up to 60 litres per day. If a million households replaced their current showerhead with a GabiH2O showerhead, this would save 60 million litres per day. 60 million litres per day is enough to supply the population of Ashford, Tunbridge Wells, Bognor and Guildford with water”.
Nickelodeon VP, Commercial Director, Kiaran Saunders adds, “Working with GabiH2O has provided Nickelodeon with an opportunity to show what we can do when charged with creating custom content for a partner. The result is engaging animated content and online activities that are truly entertaining while conveying an important environmental message.”
For more information or to interview Avi Djanogly or Jacob Tompkins, please call Lydia Drukarz at Wavelength PR on: 07977 454180 or email: lydia@wavelengthpr.com.
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Notes for editors
* In addition to its edutainment activities, GabiH2O runs a schools programme, in partnership with water companies, where children participate in a specially designed Key Stage 2 lesson programme on how to be smarter about water.
* GabiH2O also offers consumers easy ways to reduce water consumption and at the same time, make significant savings on their annual energy and water bills. Their specially developed products include water and energy saving kits for the bathroom and kitchen, showerheads, tap aerators, shower timers and toilet cistern bags.
* GabiH2O products have been developed in consultation with Waterwise, the leading authority in the UK on water efficiency and focused on decreasing water consumption: http://www.waterwise.org.uk
* For more information on GabiH2O, please visit: http://www.gabiH2O.com
* Nickelodeon is the number one commercial kids' TV network in the UK. Launched in 1993, it comprises seven dedicated award-winning entertainment channels for kids aged 2-12: Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon HD, Nick Replay, Nicktoons, Nicktoons Replay, Nick Jr., and Nick Jr. 2.
* The Nickelodeon network now reaches more than 10 million viewers a month and is available in 12.7 million cable and satellite homes.
* The company has built a diverse multi-platform business by putting kids first in everything it does and includes critically acclaimed and hugely popular television programming and production in the UK and around the world, plus consumer products, online, events, recreation and feature films.
* Nickelodeon is available on Sky 604, Virgin 712 and TalkTalk 315.
* http://www.nick.co.uk.
You can also view a high quality (HQ) streaming video of GabiH2O's Gabi The Camel's "Be Smarter About Water" Rap below:
GabiH2O on Nickelodeon UK - Be Smarter About Water
The Rapping Camel GabiH2O http://www.gabih2o.com/ and Nickelodeon UK http://www.nick.co.uk/a/gabih2o/ partner to develop UK's first animated content for TV teaching children to be smarter about water
Get our app at http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/tap-the-tap/id465045884?mt=8
To celebrate the launch of Nickelodeon UK's and GabiH2O's brand new Water Conservation campaign featuring Gabi The Rapping Camel, the official website of 'Go Girl magazine' has launched a brand new and exclusive Gabi H2O website, which you can enter here on GoGirlMag.co.uk/GabiH20:
Water saving warriors GabiH2O have teamed up with Nickelodeon to launch a new animated video clip, featuring Gabi the camel to tell you the benefits of saving water, such as turning the tap off when you brush your teeth and only taking 5 minutes in the shower. You can see the clip here: http://www.nick.co.uk/gabih2o where you'll also find lots of fun games, tips and downloads.You can enter Go Girl Magazine's exclusive Gabi H2O competition here on the official "Go Girl Magazine" website.
You could win a fantastic GabiH2O kids' kit, worth £25, containing a Gabi bag, singing toothbrush, pack of trump cards, pencil case, water bottle and water saving tips book. Simply answer this question:
When brushing your teeth, the best way to save water is to...
Also, from the Sussex Express:
Rapping camel promotes water efficiencyAlso, from the West Sussex County Times:
MEET Gabi the rapping camel who is helping Southern Water promote water efficiency on TV.
The company has formed a partnership with GabiH2O, a new company established to help deliver water efficiency messages to schoolchildren, but it has the support of Nickelodeon UK and Nicktoons whose television programmes are seen by millions of viewers.
Along with children’s favourites Spongebob Squarepants and Power Rangers, viewers are now being introduced to Gabi – a rapping cartoon camel offering advice such as ‘Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth’ and ‘Take a shorter shower’.
This new initiative links with Southern Water’s existing ‘Save Water, Save Energy, Save Money’ campaign which features water efficiency advice delivered by a nine year-old water stewardess
Gabi also features on Nickelodeon’s bespoke microsite www.nick.co.uk/gabih20 and GabiH2O’s own dedicated website www.gabih2o.com where a host of other advice is available, plus games, videos, music and lots of GabiH2O goodies for kids to win. There is also a resource kit for teachers to download so that the water cycle can be taught to Key Stage 2 children.
“This is the essential part of the package to us,” said Geoff Loader, Southern Water’s Director of Communications.
“It complements the resource material we already make available to schools but with the backing of a major children’s TV network, it should open doors to take vital water efficiency messages to a wider audience in a fun way.
“We plan to keep the messaging fresh by running a number of competitions with prizes such as a trip to Nickelodeon Land theme park in Blackpool, adopting a camel at Marwell Wildlife Park or keeper experiences and mini camel safaris at the Oasis Camel Sanctuary in Suffolk.
“Gabi the camel is the UK’s first animated TV character promoting water efficiency and we’re delighted to be in partnership with GabiH2O and Nickelodeon.”
It’s a partnership which has already impressed Water Minister Richard Benyon who said: “I want to make sure that across government we are supporting this kind of initiative.
“I’m really impressed by the engagement with children, and the use of water as a medium for learning. It’s an incredibly powerful tool.”
Rapping cartoon camel promotes water efficiency for Southern Water
A rapping cartoon camel is at the centre of a new Southern Water partnership with children’s TV network Nickelodeon to save water.
The scheme is with GabiH2O, a new company established to help deliver water efficiency messages to schoolchildren, but it has the support of Nickelodeon UK and Nicktoons whose television programmes are seen by millions of viewers.
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Based in Worthing, Southern Water serves the majority of Horsham district.
