A prankster listed bottles of Amazon drivers’ urine as an energy drink, and one of the flavors reached bestseller status, a new Channel 4 documentary claims, according to Wired.
The creator of a new expository Channel 4 documentary called “The Great Amazon Heist” decided, after interviewing Amazon delivery drivers about their need to urinate in bottles because of stringent company time restraints, to draw attention to the issue, according to Wired.
Oobah Butler, a journalist and documentary filmmaker, embedded himself at a U.K. Amazon warehouse and discovered drivers were penalized for having bottles of urine in their vehicles, so they often threw them out of the window before returning, per Wired.
You Won’t Believe What I Found Outside Amazon Fulfilment Centres Across The World… The Great Amazon Heist, @Channel4, 19th October pic.twitter.com/qYfoSSOFkf
— Oobah Butler (@Oobahs) October 15, 2023
Butler saw a golden opportunity in this and decided to collect bottles from the areas near warehouses in cities like Coventry in the U.K., as well as Los Angeles and New York, Wired noted. (RELATED: Amazon To Pay $61.7 Million For Allegedly Keeping Tips From Delivery Drivers)
Butler branded the bottles of urine as “Release Energy,” a caffeine free energy drink. He then reportedly listed the bottles on Amazon, at first within their “Refillable Pump Dispenser Category.” However, Amazon’s algorithm allegedly later moved it to drinks, he told Wired.
The faux refreshment rose to the top of the charts, achieving number one bestseller status in Amazon’s “Bitter Lemon” category, per Wired.
Butler displayed mixed emotions upon realizing his new product’s great success, telling Wired he was “initially really excited and found it very funny. Then when real people started trying to buy the product, I felt a bit scared,” he admitted.
Amazon called the situation a “crude stunt where Channel 4 posed as a seller and listed a ‘fake’ product on our store which no genuine customer bought.”
Wired noted the product never actually made it to any real consumers, claiming Butler “corralled a group of friends into making the purchases.”
“Safety is a top priority for Amazon and we require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws and regulations,” Amazon told the Telegraph in a statement. “We have industry-leading tools to prevent genuinely unsafe products being listed and we monitor our stores for genuine product safety concerns. Any sellers who circumvent these policies will face action.”