Winners in the National “Pour One Out” Contest, sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), were announced Friday, Feb 1, in Washington, D.C. First place honors went to a 41-year-old stay-at-home dad whose rap video entitled "Just Pour One Out," chronicles his struggle with sugary sodas.
The Nashville, Tenn., family of four all appear in the video, along with their original rap song, but “Dad” is the star after changing his habits because of a request from his daughter.
Peter Sullivan, a self-proclaimed “sodaholic,” says he changed his habits when his daughter told him that she did not want him “to be big and fat at her wedding.” So, he “poured one out,” and now drinks water, feels better and has a $1,000 prize for his efforts.
The contest was announced last year by CSPI as one way to focus attention on the detrimental effect sugar-laden soft drinks have had on the American diet, with one-third of the population overweight and another third considered obese. CSPI notes, “It wasn't so bad when soft drinks were the occasional treat. But now sugary drinks are the number one source of calories in the American diet.”
The contest, when announced in October 2012, used a video entitled “The Real Bears” as inspiration. The animated short film features an original song, “Sugar,” and tells the story of soda-drinking polar bears ridden by ill-health who make the decision to “pour one out.” The film went viral, and its poignant story served to spur entries in the contest.
Judging of entries was by CSPI staff, joined by Advertising pioneer Alex Bogusky; the short films were judged on on creativity, originality, and effectiveness of the health message. CSPI offered a $1,000 prize for the winning film, and $500 and $250 prizes for the second- and third-place films.
Second prize was awarded to the fifth grade class of Laurel Frederick’s after-school club at Incline Elementary School in Incline Village, Nev. “They calculated the amount of sugar in selected drinks and did hands-on activities to help drive the point home,” said Frederick. The film was called "Pour One Out and Fill One Up."
Third place honors were won by Dennis Nguyen from St. Metairie, LA, who worked with friends to create “One for My Boy,” based on childhood memories of Kool-Aid advertisements in his neighborhood. Nguyen is an IT professional.
The announcement made by CSPI also noted, "Coke and Pepsi spend billions of dollars on television advertising and other forms of marketing, so it's exciting to see so many budding filmmakers take to the Internet to lampoon an industry whose products promote obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson.
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