In New York City, iced tea brand Pure Leaf has come up with a simple yet brilliant way to help overstimulated urbanites catch their breath: by literally confiscating their phones.
Amid the city’s nonstop hustle, Pure Leaf installed a vending machine unlike any other. No coins, no cards: the only currency accepted here is your phone. To get your free bottle of iced tea, you have to place your smartphone inside a secure compartment. Once you do, there’s no backing out: a timer locks your phone away for ten whole minutes.
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The goal is delightfully old-school: force people to take a real break, screen-free. Right next to the machine, a comfy chair invites passersby to sit down, sip their tea, and do absolutely nothing, a rare luxury in one of the world’s busiest environments.
And it worked. The campaign struck a chord online, with the video racking up over 11 million views and more than 440,000 likes on Instagram in just four days. Proof that in an age of endless notifications, a forced moment of disconnection can feel like the ultimate indulgence.
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Pure Leaf isn’t the only brand tapping into our craving to unplug. KitKat once ran a similar stunt, offering chocolate to people who agreed to spend less time on their phones. Heineken even created a phone case that flips your phone upside down making it impossible to scroll while you’re out for drinks.