Slip Me a Slug of the Wonderful Mug

Perhaps you missed the latest tempest-in-a-latte-cup when Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones showed what appeared to be a Starbucks drink next to one of the leading characters. (Starbucks, not to mention electricity and paper cups, does not exist in the Game of Thrones fantasy universe.)

The accidental product placement has garnered free social-media publicity for the Seattle-based coffee company:

Plenty of brands would like to find a way into an ad-free smash TV show like HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” On Sunday night, Starbucks Corp. seemed to have lucked its way there...the apparent anachronism handed Starbucks a big share of the voluminous “Game of Thrones” social-media conversation that follows every episode.

In the middle of its final season, over 17 million viewers (across all platforms) have been watching Game of Thrones. That's a lot of eyeballs.

Note: in an alternative universe it's possible that the Starbucks cup could have existed, for example:

After a day of slaughter, Daenerys really needed to stop at a bathroom. Her code of ethics forbade her from using the Starbucks facilities without buying anything--though she didn't have to (cut to image of the Philadelphia 911 incident)--so she ordered the venti, triple-shot non-fat latte, no sugar. When the barista asks if she needed a cardboard sleeve, the camera pans to her calloused hands, toughened by the fire of dragons that she rides all day. Daenerys smiles faintly and takes the cup without the sleeve and pops in the green swizzle stick that seals the top for transport. She enters the gender-neutral bathroom. Fade to black...

Note: at last night's Warriors-Rockets game actress Emilia Clarke, the subject of all the social-media fun, was spotted by the mascot. You cannot escape, Daenerys!