Small N.C. Town Considers Promotional Water After 'Best-Tasting' Honor

By Joseph Myers

In our home base of Philadelphia, where our tap water's reputation is not the liquid equivalent of, say, that of “The Godfather” as the best film of all time, we do not tend to take much pride in the product. So we can say we're a tad bit envious of the residents of Mount Olive, N.C., whose town manager (what a title!) and mayor are considering promoting their award-winning tap water by filling and branding bottles with it.

When we became aware of this plan, we immediately thought, “Mount Olive, aren’t they known for their pickles?” As there are a few Mount Olive locations in the U.S., we lucked out by guessing that this is indeed the one famous for the sandwich helpers. Instead of enhancing its food renown, though, the North Carolina location could be bolstering its beverage clout, as its second best-of distinction within the last four years has Charles Brown, the aforementioned town manager, and Mayor Joe Scott thinking of giving a nod to those who preserve the water’s quality.

Mount Olive credited with state’s best-tasting water | Mount Olive Tribunehttps://t.co/siBHVGjC7a

— Mount Olive Tribune (@MOTribune) May 22, 2019

North Carolina checks in as the ninth-most populous state, so claiming the best-tasting water crown is no small feat and certainly a font of inspirational pride for Brown and Scott. As the town’s Tribune publication notes, though, Brown does not know “how realistic it is at this point” to follow through with a promotional bottling campaign. The area is not short on attractions, including the North Carolina Pickle Festival, but any promo boost that the town can conceive might be something that they should talk even more diligently about to see if it could hold water.

Mount Olive sounds like a pretty modest town (its population is 4,650), but we could imagine the overseers coming up with a vibrant branding idea if they are seriously looking to market their good fortune. We are sure that many people in North Carolina and outside of the Tarheel State would want to see how the water holds up against their own areas’ supplies. While we know that Philadelphia’s water would probably be in a pickle if it were to go up against the Mount Olive offering, we would be more eager to see how Brown, Scott and others declare their distinction via the bottles. Here’s hoping they don’t go through hell or high water in their quest to implement this promotional concept.