Timbered buildings, just restored like a doll’s house, decorate the wide streets of Haßloch, a village in the Rhein region. The only thing that seems worth noticing is its inconspicuousness. One thing, however, which does distinguish Haßloch from all other German towns is that the whole village is a testing ground. For 18 years the 'GFK' (society for consumer research) has been running its 'behaviour-scan' in this village, named “the most average village in Germany''. The 'behaviour-scan' is behavioural research that is conducted for enquiring the effectiveness of advertising in media. It is the aim to test the introduction of new products under realistic conditions. Therefore, you can find products in the supermarkets of Haßloch which are not to be found anywhere else in Germany; advertisements are shown on TV, printed in magazines and on posters that can only be seen in Haßloch. The GFK looks into every shopping trolley and meticulously scans the contents in order to find out whether the new test products are being accepted, or remain on the shelves.