Iced Tea Bottler, Visiting Philadelphia, Uses Honesty As Marketing Tool
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - An organic iced tea manufacturer has been setting up booths in big cities across the country to test people's honesty. Today, the company put Philadelphians to the test.
At the corner of 5th and Market Streets in Center City, curious workers on their lunch breaks and tourists passing by stepped up to a stand filled with bottles of cold organic iced tea and checked out the sign that reads, "$1 bottle -- honor system."
Meanwhile, a hidden camera is rolling to find out if they'll dump a buck into a container.
"We're honoring the honor system -- we're honorable people," said one woman.
"Why would we not pay?" said a man. "It's on the honor system -- that's what the honor system's about. You pay."
But another man notes with a laugh, "At nighttime, it might be a different story."
Even in broad daylight, one bystander saw signs of dishonesty.
"Two or three people just grabbed teas and just walked away. Just that fast. That's crazy."
Aubrey Keegan of Honest Tea, which set up the booth, calls it a social experiment.
"We're an organic product. First and foremost, we like to be upfront with our consumers. So we wanted to test a little bit how our consumers would react to a program like this."
And let's face it, this so-called experiment in honesty is a great way for the company to cash in on its name.
Reported by Paul Kurtz, KYW Newsradio 1060
