It’s been three years since the premiere of GOT’s last season, and the TV show remains a cultural phenomenon. Thus, a marketing bombardment was inevitable, and the game of brands took off. We ranked the best brand tie-ins and picked our favorites.

Game of Thrones finale set an all-time rating record

The last season of GOT kept fans stuck to the TV screens for over a month. The long-anticipated HBO finale, “The Iron Throne”, drew more than 13 million viewers and broke the rating records previously owned by the last episode of “The Sopranos” in 2007. With the wave of ecstatic fans came the aggressive brand promotion of the TV series that generated millions of dollars in the consumer market.

Three years have passed since the Game of Throne frenzy spiraled, and top-tier brands still keep the fans’ fantasy alive through their products and thoughtful marketing strategy.

GOT-inspired fashion trends

Today you can still walk into the most consecrated fashion stores and see at least one piece of clothing depicting your favorite houses like Stars, Lannister, or Targaryen, or other quotes that became a trademark of the HBO prequel. However, high-end fashion houses also adopted new trends and adapted their collections to the masses’ demands.

In March 2019, one of the biggest brands was Adidas Originals, which spared no time in landing a GOT-inspired collaboration. The sneaker brand released six limited-edition running shoes collections of Ultraboost, featuring the color scheme and peculiar characteristics of the most beloved characters of Game of Thrones.

Other fashion brands that jumped the wagon

The luxury menswear brand John Varvatos released a unique collection of clothing items, including a custom $1,498 linen jacket and a compilation of T-shirts, each priced at $98. The clothing brand received some backlash for its high prices, but luxury fashion fanatics gave in to the trend.

The gaming industry delighted GOT fans

One of the most beloved board games, Monopoly, brought to life a GOT-themed board game meant to recreate an engaging setting for the most devoted fans.

The world of Westeros has also made it to the gambling industry, as HBO partnered with iGaming developers to create eye-catching slot games that appealed to the supporters of this widely talked about drama series. In 2019, Zynga Inc. released the first online slot, which soon became a popular choice on online slot sites.

Game of Thrones beauty brands collaborations

Make-up brands took the chance to recreate the most colorful eyeshadow palettes inspired by the most appreciated characters of the show. Urban Decay released in April 2019, a collaboration inspired by Arya Stark’s Needle and other symbolic items like Jon Snow’s Longclaw. The collection included eyeshadow, highlighter palettes, lipstick, and make-up brushes. The whole set could be purchased at a fair price of $250.

For those makeup enthusiasts looking for dupes inspired by the GOT series, Makeup Revolution also released an eyeshadow collection based on the much-awaited prequel.

Food & beverages celebrating the show

Consumerism took off during the long wait for the last GOT season premiere, and many brands showed their support to the fans. Food chains like SmashBox entered the scene, creating a unique Game of Thrones dedicated menu, which included a spicy burger, the “Dracarys Burger,” and a minty-cool and delicious “Dragonglass Shake.”

Mountain Dew, one of the most popular energy drinks, released a limited-edition beverage that could not be found in the stores. Fans have to enter a competition using the hashtag #ACanHasNoName. Also, Oreo released a special edition of their beloved cookies, designed embossed with typical GOT House symbols such as a dire wolf inspired by House Stark, a lion dedicated to the Lannisters, a multi-headed dragon characteristic of the House Targaryen, and even the cold face of the Night King, the villain of the series.

Apps adding GOT-themed features

The second at the top of the best music streaming platforms, Spotify created a special playlist entitled “Game of Thrones: The End Is Coming” in partnership with Game of Thrones main co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The carefully selected songs were meant to express the adrenaline and emotions caused by the show’s most significant moments.

As the cultural impact of Game of Thrones peaked with the season finale, Duolingo, a language-learning app, implemented courses in the secret language invented on the show, High Valyrian. By the time of GOT’s finale, the course had a number of 822,000 active students.

Several apps included GOT themes

OkCupid, a dating app, created a feature meant to match people based on their opinion regarding the drama series. In March 2019, app users could get a special GOT badge after indicating if they watched or did not watch the show. This feature may sound overly exaggerated to some, but the numbers beg to differ – there were 20% more likes and 15% more discussions based on this criteria.

Game of Thrones wreaks havoc on all industries

Game of Thrones will remain in history as one of the biggest HBO premieres of all time, making a massive impact on all industries and increasing their profits during the months preceding the finale. However, the GOT series built a vast community of fans, and the numbers prove that as the GOT spinoff, House of the Dragon, broke another rating record in August 2022.

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Betty Bugle
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