Warning: This post contains spoilers for Season 3 of โThe White Lotus.โ
Coffee Mateโs โWhite Lotusโ piรฑa colada-flavored creamer, which came out in January, was actually a nod to the showโs explosive finale.
On April 6, the HBO show aired its Season 3 finale, and after eight episodes of blackmailing, gossiping and one eye-opening monologue, audiences finally found out who was floating dead in the water during the most-watched episode of the series so far.ย
Prior to that, patriarch Tim Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) nearly killed his family with poisoned piรฑa coladas, a plot point that fans โ and Coffee Mate, apparently โ had no clue about until the show aired.
โwell this is awkward,โ Coffee Mate posted on Instagram April 7, along with an image of its creamer, now loaded with context, in addition to pineapple and coconut flavorings.
Of course, social media had a field day with the revelation.
โthe Piรฑa colada flavored Coffee mate makes so much sense now,โ posted one X user, and another responded, โAlso a bit diabolicalโฆโ
โPiper nooooooo,โ an Instagram user wrote, quoting Parker Posey’s viral moment from her TODAY appearance.
โthis is iconic marketing,โ commented someone on on Instagram.
โThe coconut milk is OFF!!!โ wrote another, quoting Isaacโs character when he suddenly decides against poisoning his family.
โSuddenly this creamer doesnโt seem very appetizing,โ one TikToker said.
โNOT MIKE WHITE MAKING OUR COFFEE AN EASTER EGG ๐คฃ๐,โ screamed another TikTok user, showing the creamer in their fridge. They also urged folks to wash their blenders.
โWhile we couldnโt have predicted the season finale โ and can confirm, were equally on the edge of our seats โ we wanted our creamers to deliver on the five-star vacation vibes and growing consumer popularity ofย โdestination flavors,โโ Daniel Jhung, president of coffee & beverage for Nestlรฉ USA, tells TODAY.com.ย ย
Jhung also revealed to the Wall Street Journal that the writers kept the association under โlock and keyโ the entire season, but they were enthusiastic when the company initially proposed the flavor.
โI will say that in hindsight, we were showing the different flavors, and the fact that โThe White Lotusโ team was like, โOh, you know, piรฑa colada is a really good idea, you should go in that directionโโit now kind of makes sense,โ he said.
And this isnโt even the first time this season that the HBO show has made headlines for dicey brand associations: Tim โ you know, the character who nearly murdered his whole familyย โ frequently wore a Duke University T-shirt, including in a scene where he contemplates suicide.
This did not go over well with the school, who said in a March 27 statement to TODAY.com that the school did not โapprove the use of its marksโ and that it โcreates confusion and mistakenly suggests an endorsement or affiliation where none exists.โ
Coffee Mate seems to be taking things a little bit better.
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