Forget the Iron Throne, the real winner to come from Game of Thrones season 8 is coffee giant Starbucks who have saved billions from a rogue coffee cup popping up in episode 4.
Midway through The Last of The Starks, during the feast toasting those who fell at the hands of The Night King (played by Vladimir Furdik) and his army in The Long Night, a cup popped up next to Daenerys Targaryan (Emilia Clarke), somehow being overlooked by the hundreds of cast and crew who will have watched the episode before it played out on HBO.
Said cup went viral, and Starbucks have subsequently saved $2.3 billion (£1.7 billion) in free advertising, according to CNBC – even though Metro.co.uk exclusively revealed the coffee was served by a café nearby to the Game of Thrones set in Belfast, Paper Cup.
‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime collision of opportunity for Starbucks,’ said marketing expert Stacy Jones.
‘But really, this is just the tip of the iceberg, because what isn’t being monitored or estimated is the word of mouth and social media on top of this.’
While Starbucks haven’t directly laid any claim to the most famous coffee cup in the world – estimated to be worth $250,000 – they didn’t exactly shut it down either.
Paper Cup owner John McKinney told us it’s ‘b****y disgusting’ that the global high-street giant has lapped up all the credit.
‘It takes the promotion away from smaller businesses that need it, such as ours, or someone else’s whose cup it could’ve been,’ he fumed.
‘It’s clearly not even from Starbucks! The nearest Starbucks is miles away.’
HBO have swiftly removed the cup from future circulations of the episode, while art director Hauke Richte said the gaffe has been ‘blown out of proportion’.
After a wait of two years and with a budget of around $90 million (£69 million) spent on season eight, we beg to differ.
Game of Thrones season 8 continues Sunday at 9pm on HBO and will be simulcast on Sky Atlantic. Seasons one to seven are currently available to stream on NOW TV.
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