When brands become the villain: Lessons from Coffee Mate's 'White Lotus' collab

“It’s just so fucked up.”

Francesca Borgognone Salcedo, VP of celebrity and entertainment at Alison Brod Marketing + Communications, didn’t mince words when talking about Coffee Mate’s piña colada-flavored creamer collaboration with HBO’s The White Lotus. 

She’s not talking about the show’s dark humor or twisted plot. Borgognone Salcedo is referring to The White Lotus team reportedly keeping Coffee Mate parent Nestlé in the dark about how the season finale would end. Spoiler alert: a character tries to use poisoned piña coladas to kill his family members. 

“Coffee Mate licensed a product with the show’s [intellectual property], so the fact that someone on either side didn't do the due diligence of how it would be reflected in the show is even more asinine, because there is actual licensed product with the brand name,” says Borgognone Salcedo. “There were dollars exchanged.” 

“How could this have happened? I am at a loss,” she says. 

Because Coffee Mate did not have an actual product placed in The White Lotus, Borgognone Salcedo says it’s possible the show’s team didn’t feel they had to disclose how piña coladas would be referenced in the finale. She calls it a “sneaky” move by the studio. 

“Coffee Mate probably thought it was in a safe space because it wasn't going to be directly integrated into the show,” says Borgognone Salcedo. “But the show should have disclosed it.’

It isn’t the first time a brand was surprised by how its product was used in a pivotal HBO episode. In 2021, during the pilot of And Just Like That…, Carrie Bradshaw love interest John James “Mr. Big” Preston died of a heart attack after riding on a Peloton bike. Peloton knew the bike would be featured in the episode, but had no idea Mr. Big would bite the dust after using one of its products, BuzzFeed reported.

Another brand that had an unfortunate starring role in a hit show was Crock-Pot. It malfunctioned on NBC’s This Is Us in 2018, lighting a house on fire and killing the character Jack Pearson.

The Peloton and Crock-Pot incidents were not true brand collaborations, but rather “generic” references that had the potential to cause brand damage, says Hunter chief entertainment officer Samantha Turtle. 

“Especially after the Peloton thing, we make sure we are overcommunicating with studios, labels and streamers to find out details,” says Borgognone Salcedo.

How can brands protect themselves from a collaboration gone wrong? Alison Brod works on brand collaborations with music videos, films and TV shows that consist of exchanging goods or services for placements for free, and integrations, which are usually paid arrangements, where a product appears in a storyline.

The firm has also promoted licensed product lines for TV shows, such as a Nails.INC nail polish set with Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, and an Emily in Paris x Lancôme eyeshadow palette.

“Those go through rounds and rounds of approvals,” says Borgognone Salcedo.

Even to a lesser degree, if a brand is associating itself with a show or film in any way, brands see approval as essential so they are seen “in a positive light,” she adds.    

FleishmanHillard SVP, senior partner and global entertainment lead Sean Lashley warns that brand collaborations, no matter the type, always carry some risk, but that doesn’t mean they should be avoided.

“When done thoughtfully, brand collaborations can be incredibly powerful for both participants, providing relevance, resonance and reach with new and existing audiences,” he says.  

When working with a film, TV show, music video or stage production, it’s important that clear ground rules are established and made part of a contract.

“When you contractually integrate into a film or TV property, you are granting limited trademark usage and are generally able to dictate some boundaries regarding how the product is featured, such as that it can’t be used for any purpose other than it is intended for or can cause harm, or featured in a scene containing violence, drugs or death,” says Turtle.

When it comes to film and TV in particular, it is incredibly important for a brand to understand the context in how its product will be seen by audiences.

“We typically require the ability to review the portions of the script that our clients will be featured in prior to agreeing to any form of collaboration,” Lashley says. “If that isn't possible, clear guidelines are established for how the brand may appear, the context for the scene and even the way the brand is referenced.”

This ensures that the media partner is fully aware of brand guidelines and that the brand doesn't appear in a way that could lead to harm, he adds.

FleishmanHillard has a large team from different disciplines who work together to think through all scenarios prior to executing a brand collaboration or product integration. The firm’s entertainment team typically leads the charge, working closely with consumer marketing colleagues and specialists in food and agriculture and crisis communications prior to entering into any collaboration on behalf of clients, says Lashley.

“Likewise, we work closely with our clients along the way to ensure they are fully aware of and aligned with the way their brand will be seen,” he says. “Nothing is ever a surprise after the fact as they have been on the journey with us.” 

Hunter’s approach to brand collaborations is a mix of art and science, says Turtle. 

“The art lies in trusting the writers to work their magic and in believing that audiences can distinguish between entertainment and reality,” she says. “The science is in establishing clear brand guidelines and communicating them upfront, both clearly and contractually.”

Hunter builds in checkpoints to ensure alignment. These allow the client to review, provide input and, if needed, bow out while paying a fee that reflects work completed to date. 

“This structure protects both creative integrity and client investment, making the collaboration feel truly collaborative,” Turtle says.

Brand and entertainment collaborations are most successful when the reference is organic and positive from the start. This, she explains, allows Hunter to build a partnership in good faith. Some classic examples of deals that generated legendary positive value include Nike and Forest Gump, Reese’s Pieces and ET and Ray Ban Aviators and Top Gun. 

“We actively cultivate relationships with talent and creative partners day-in and day-out to foster these types of authentic moments, building positive associations that can lead to expanded opportunities down the line,” says Turtle.

Will Coffee Mate be negatively affected by The White Lotus? That’s far from clear, and the brand has responded to the finale both with humor and a thorough explanation from a company executive. 

PRWeek ran a poll on LinkedIn about the Coffee Mate-White Lotus collaboration. More than seven in 10 respondents (72%) said they loved it, while 21% said it was “horrifying” and they were “put off.”

The morning after the finale aired, Coffee Mate posted a picture on Instagram of its White Lotus Piña Colada creamer with the text, “Well, this is awkward.”

Daniel Jhung, president of the Nestlé USA coffee and beverage division, did a Q&A with The Wall Street Journal and explained that the company had no idea how the season would end.

“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 told the WSJ. “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.”

It’s too early to tell if sales are being affected by the finale, which took place in Q2. In Q1, Nestlé posted 2.8% organic sales growth, supported by strong pricing actions and robust performance in emerging markets, despite market volatility. Total reported sales rose 2.3% year-over-year.

Borgognone Salcedo says Nestlé USA is handling the situation with grace.

“All press is good press,” she says. “They took the upper hand by being jokeful about it. In situations like these, you don't want to burn bridges.”

She adds that many consumers likely purchased the product “in jest.”

“It’s buzzy for a brand like that to even be in the conversation,” Borgognone Salcedo explains. “It’s a double-edged sword: they are in the conversation, and they are owning the fact that they didn't know, but they are not bashing the streamer or show.”

Representatives for Coffee Mate, along with its PR partner, Weber Shandwick, were not available for comment. A spokesperson for Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of HBO and Max, did not respond to requests for comment.