Honest by name

With the help of SS+K, Honest Tea launched a guerilla social experiment across the seven largest American cities to catapult the organic tea from niche to mainstream status.

To introduce the beverage to new customers, a pop-up shop called ”The Honest Store” was installed on sidewalks and stocked with ice cold bottles of Honest Tea. The shops relied solely on the honor system of passersby as a money box and sign read: “$1.00 on the Honor System.” Hidden cameras were in place and recorded the actions of those who decided to pay $1 for their drinks and those who simply stopped by without paying. 

The experiment proved that 87% of Americans were honest! And here's the split by city...

The campaign received incredible media support, garnered YouTube views, and millions in impressions and ad value. All great news, but what’s most striking is the sales growth which set the brand on its way to furthering its mision. In each market Honest Tea doubled their sales, achieving record sales in the process. Creating brand awareness through a simple strategy of testing human morality via honesty was a smart way to stay true to the brand values as well as test America’s. 

more details via a vimeo link