I paid $25 to be in a fake focus group for a soda brand and it turned into the best ad I have seen this year

Amy Taylor · 2026-10-10T12:40:03.504193+00:00

So I signed up for this paid market research thing in Columbus 3 weeks ago, $25 cash just to sit in a room and drink unmarked cans of soda. Halfway through, the moderator starts pushing this new fizzy water and everyone is being polite about how bad it tastes. Then this guy Marcus, who I swear was a plant, stands up and says it tastes like his grandma's basement smells and the whole room loses it. The brand actually cut that clip, blurry camera and all, into their real ad campaign and it's already got 2 million views on TikTok. I keep seeing it reposted now and I feel weirdly proud that I was sitting three chairs away. It's the first time a company made me feel like the cringe was the point instead of hiding it. Has anyone else been in one of those research panels and then actually seen the ad come out?

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I paid $25 to be in a fake focus group for a soda brand and it turned into the best ad I have seen this year | Ad Watch Party - SMM Buzz