Starbucks got tens of millions of dollars of free advertising when a coffee cup was left in a key scene of Game of Thrones two weeks ago. But the company behind the bottle of water that briefly appeared Sunday’s finale likely won’t be so lucky.
Armchair critics are once again taking the show to task as eagle-eyed viewers spotted a plastic water bottle on the ground near Samwell Tarly’s feet during Sunday’s episode. But since the bottle wasn’t as prominent as the coffee cup and the label was blocked by the leg of actor John Bradley, no specific company is seeing its name spread like dragon fire along with the snarky comments.
Ironically, it turned out it the cup in the original brouhaha didn’t even belong to Starbucks. (It was a craft services cup.) But no one realized that until it had already been spread far and wide that the omnipresent chain seemed to have opened a location in Westeros.
That’s a shame for whoever made the bottle of water. Ratings for the show have only increased since the coffee cup incident. And last night’s episode is likely to set all time records for HBO (even if it didn’t air in China for mysterious reasons).
🚨 **Warning: Major spoilers for Sunday’s episode follow.** 🚨
The gaffe occurs 46 minutes and 19 seconds into the episode, as Westeros’ surviving rulers gather in a council.
a water bottle in King’s Landing!! #got #gameofthrones pic.twitter.com/mwGQlsLwnh
— Beth (@bethisloco) May 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/AabedBanna1/status/1130450360856924161
https://twitter.com/giovannaepae/status/1130355142052732928
If HBO follows the pattern from the coffee cup incident, the bottle will likely be digitally scrubbed from future airings of the show.
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