SPOILERS: This post contains details about The White Lotus, Season 3 finale ‘Amor Fati’
Although Duke wasn’t down with The White Lotus displaying their logo along with some attempted familicide, Nestlé is leaning into the moment.
Following last week’s Season 3 finale of Mike White‘s hit HBO series, Nestlé exec Daniel Jhung explained that the company was not aware of the episode ‘Amor Fati’s poisoned piña colada plotline when its brand Coffee Mate agreed to partner with the show on a line of the same alcoholic drink mix (sans poisonous pong-pong shavings).
“Obviously, the writers keep this [under] lock and key, so we didn’t know that piña colada was such a featured part of the last episode,” Jhung, president of the Nestlé USA coffee and beverage division, told The Wall Street Journal. “I will say that in hindsight, we were showing the different flavors, and the fact that The White Lotus team was like, ‘Oh, you know, piña colada is a really good idea, you should go in that direction’—it now kind of makes sense.”
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Despite the fact that blender brand Bosch noted they “appreciate the attention,” a rep recently clarified that the one used in the scene “was not provided or placed by the company.”
Jhung, on the other hand, explained, “We’re willing to take risks like that, to basically be part of the zeitgeist and pop culture, and resonate with young consumers.”
After Jason Isaacs‘ character Timothy Ratliff attempted to kill his family in the finale via poisoned piña coladas to spare them the penniless life awaiting them back home, only to have a change of heart, Nestlé’s marketing team crafted the perfect response on Instagram.
“Well this is awkward,” Coffee Mate wrote with an image of the their branded mix.
Jhung noted, “The marketing team is a huge fan of the show, which is why we picked one of these properties. Again, we didn’t know [what would happen]. The piña colada thing was a surprise to us, too. But once they saw it, they did react pretty fast through our Instagram page.
“The ‘awkward’ post got picked up quite a bit by consumers, by other brands, because it was so perfect with the show’s ending,” he added.
Nestlé certainly had a more positive reaction than Duke University, after a rep slammed the show for its “troubling” depiction of Timothy contemplating shooting his family and himself while sporting the school’s logo, which they said “simply goes too far.”
The post Nestlé Exec Reacts To “Awkward” ‘The White Lotus’ Tie-In For Piña Colada Brand Partnership appeared first on Deadline.
