If large numbers of people dressed as superheroes are clogging the streets around Manhattan's Penn Plaza on July 27, blame New Leaf Brands, the Old Tappan-N.J.-based maker of all-natural,
ready-to-drink iced teas and lemonades.
Looking to tap into the large pool of unemployed recent graduates, New Leaf is "casting" a team of "Defenders of Taste," who must show up at the
audition dressed as superheroes.
The Defenders, dressed in hard-to-ignore (even in Manhattan) green-and-black costumes that include head goggles and shields bearing the New Leaf logo, will
pilot a branded vehicle around the city dispensing New Leaf samples and searching for "taste offenders."
When they spot someone drinking a beverage containing high-fructose corn syrup or
artificial ingredients, the Defenders will blow whistles, throw flags, and issue taste-offense "citations."
While it's doubtful that Tobey Maguire or Robert Downey Jr. will be trying out, it
probably beats carrying a sandwich board.