“Yellowstone,” the wildly popular Western TV drama based on the trials and tribulations of the Duttons, a fictional Montana ranching family whose adventures are set against the backdrops of Wyoming and the West, returned to Paramount+ television this month with the long awaited second half of its fifth and final season.
Fans have responded mostly favorably to the plotline, which includes the sudden death of a main character. But they’ve also groused about what appears to be gaining more and more screentime: Brand-name products. Lots of them.
“Product placement is all that’s left of Yellowstone,” @nicholasnewman wrote on X. “‘Boy howdy a cowboy sure does like sleeping on Bol & Branch sheets and sending Shari’s Berries to his mother just in time for her birthday, yee-haw pass me pass me a Cherry-Coke-Zero and some Pringle’s potato crisps.’”
“Honestly, Yellowstone’s latest episode was just so boring. Wasted 30 minutes for product placement!!!” added @anavalenz. “If this continues on, I think I won’t finish the series!”
Not everyone thinks so.
At Pissers Palace, a bar in Butte, Montana, the show is often a conversation topic.
Bartender Gary Bolton said there is no shortage of fans of the TV show among his customers.
A loyal viewer himself, Bolton said products featured on the show have not bothered him.
“I don’t think so,” Bolton said. “I think it’s one of the better shows out there.”
Those Close-Ups
In one of the newer episodes, the camera is caught lingering on a bottle of 6666 Four Sixes Vodka, a product of 6666 Four Sixes Grit & Glory beverage company, which just so happens to be owned by Taylor Sheridan, the creator of “Yellowstone.”
“So far, this season of #Yellowstone has a ridiculous amount of product placement, mostly Taylor Sheridan’s brands,”@VeNoM_DEO
wrote on X. “It’s way too noticeable and forced.”
Other products that have been featured in the program, according to Newsweek, include clothing brands Carhartt and Wrangler, Coors, Apple, Dell, Stetson hats and Dodge Ram trucks.
What’s happening, according to Modern Retail, is a symbiosis of a popular show with a huge audience gaining interest in the Western way of life, and the desire of rugged outdoor brands to reach them.
The show has elevated the timeless, cowboy look and lifestyle, causing some clothing manufacturers to see big surges in sales. Following the premiere of the newest slate of episodes this month, heritage outdoors brand Filson saw a nearly 300% increase in revenue, the online magazine reported.
Marketing products in TV show is as old as the business, but some fans believe product placement has been overkill and anything but subtle on “Yellowstone.” Some viewers say it detracts from what’s most important to them: An enjoyable character-driven hour of entertainment.
“Soooo … more time fillers shots … more commercials … less plot,” wrote @JamesEd65031730. “And now Taylor Sheridan is pushing his own ranch advertising and Vodka… Just when I thought it would be worth watch the final season … this is pathetic and I will avoid the spinoffs.”
Emails to Paramount+ and CBS media relations representatives were not returned.
Justin George can be reached at justin@cowboystatedaily.com.
