As a gamer who’s been around for more than a few seasons of TV shows, I can confidently say that the infamous coffee cup blunder on Game of Thrones is still one for the history books. Five years later and it’s not just the dragons or the White Walkers that keep popping up in conversations, but that darn cup.
Approximately five years have passed since the infamous “Game of Thrones” coffee cup blunder, yet I find myself occasionally recalling that hilarious mistake. Throughout the series, there were some other noteworthy set errors, but none garnered as much attention as that coffee cup did. This is evident by the significant amount of free publicity Starbucks received from it.
In case you recall, during Season 8, Episode 4 of Game of Thrones, an anachronistic coffee cup from Starbucks was noticed and sparked much conversation. The buzz around it became so intense that CNBC consulted experts to estimate the cost of this error. Apparently, the financial impact was significant, with some suggesting that Starbucks received a massive amount of free advertising as a result, as the report detailed.
According to Stacy Jones, CEO of marketing firm Hollywood Branded, they calculated the total worth of all the hype surrounding Starbucks and Game of Thrones at approximately $2.3 billion. Jones referred to PR service Critical Mention, which recorded a total of 10,627 mentions of these two entities across various online platforms, television, and radio stations worldwide.
Hey there fellow gamer! Let me tell you, I was absolutely floored by that statistic! You see, this article dropped just one day after the episode aired way back in 2019 – yep, it went live on May 7th, but the episode itself premiered on May 5th. HBO addressed their mistake on May 6th, and by the time we’re talking about this number, it’s based on just two days of data! That’s some next-level speed right there!
For over five years now, we’ve occasionally reminisced about a cup, which surprisingly isn’t a Starbucks one. If we’d been tracking mentions since 2019 and factored in inflation, the frequency of these discussions might have grown significantly higher.
The story subsequently attributed Jones’ statement as referring to the unusual convergence of opportunities for Starbucks she deemed a “rare occurrence.” This is due to the fact that the cup in question wasn’t from their establishment, and this incident had absolutely nothing to do with intentional product placement; it was simply an unintended occurrence.
It’s noteworthy too that the narrative mentions the high price tag associated with intentional product placements in scenes like this. Noah Mallin, who was leading experience, content, and sponsorship at media agency Wavemaker during that period, stated that if they had truly wanted to include a Starbucks cup there, it would probably have cost a six-figure sum.
Simultaneously, Dan Hill, the CEO of Hill Impact, pointed out that while it’s challenging to assign a specific figure to this case, its worth cannot be understated.
The exact value of the free publicity that Starbucks receives can’t be precisely measured, but it falls into an entirely unique class compared to product placement. This is due to its accidental nature, which gives it a greater worth since it wasn’t planned or intentional.
He continued by saying he assumed the attention came from the “country’s ‘gotcha culture’” not the “power of Starbucks.” However, there is something to be said about people on social media assuming that that disposable cup came from a massive coffee company.
In essence, this calculation is astounding, and it’s still hard to grasp the magnitude of the effect a seemingly minor error had on the internet in the past. To this very day, when errors occur on ‘House of the Dragon’, or indeed any TV show, they often evoke comparisons to this event.
Indeed, despite $2.3 billion seeming hard to believe, considering the extensive discussions about coffee cups and Starbucks in the single Game of Thrones scene, the figure gradually seems more understandable.
To rewatch the episode where the cup originally appeared (since it’s not available now), you could opt to stream “Game of Thrones” using a Max subscription.
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2024-11-17 04:37