Say My Name
In the penultimate episode of “Breaking Bad” Bob Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman character finds himself, along with the central character Walter White, looking for a new identity to escape justice. While Walter is still attempting to find a way to influence events from his new circumstances, Saul Goodman is more glib: “best scenario for me is I’m managing a Cinnabon in Omaha in three years.”
Breaking Bad is not the ideal setting for product placement. Denny’s would not exactly celebrate the idea that two characters might eat there after disposing of a murder victim in a vat of acid (Chili’s and Olive Garden flat out turned down the show when asked for permission to film there).
But in the spirit of no-such-thing-as-bad-publicity, being mentioned in the windup of one of the more critically acclaimed shows in history is not the worst thing for Cinnabon. After all, companies usually spend quite a bit of money to get someone to say their name.
Especially given that the tie-in was introduced by a character known for comic relief, and in a context not directly related to violence (no hardware manufacturer would be quick to claim association with the box-cutter used in grisly fashion in season 4) it really is not bad publicity.
And so it was that Cinnabon was able to playfully interact with fans of the show on Twitter on the night of September 22, 2013. Here are some highlights:
