‘The White Lotus’ Luxury: How Branded Collaborations Are Capitalizing on Privilege

Forward of the much-anticipated Season 3 finale of “The White Lotus,” HBO’s darkish comedy-drama that skewers self-absorbed luxurious vacationers, some followers will be capable to immerse themselves in a model of the present’s opulent settings.

The 4 Seasons Resort Westlake Village, within the foothills of California’s Santa Monica Mountains, is offering an “unique luxurious wellness retreat,” set to start hours forward of the finale’s airing on Sunday. The expertise is meant to “seize the essence” of this season’s Thailand location.

“We’re inviting followers to transcend watching ‘The White Lotus’ and actually expertise it,” Pia Barlow, HBO and Max’s government vp of originals advertising, mentioned in a information launch in regards to the marketing campaign.

The retreat is just one of many “White Lotus” experiences and merchandise pegged to the present season. The premium baggage firm Away sold out its “White Lotus” capsule assortment, full with lotus flower-printed inside lining. Clothes retailers together with H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bloomingdale’s and Banana Republic have all supplied show-inspired resort attire. (Patrick Schwarzenegger, a star of the season, modeled for Banana Republic.) There may be “White Lotus” wallpaper, sunscreen and a travel skin-care set in a branded seaside tote. Sunglasses, candles, chocolates and even a Thai coffee-flavored creamer could be bought by viewers trying to dwell just like the present’s rich protagonists.

However actually experiencing “The White Lotus” is an inherently dicey proposition. The first motif of the sequence — created, written and directed by Mike White — has all the time been to satirize the rich who, even whereas enveloped by the world’s most tranquil and extraordinary environment, can’t assist however indulge their egos or sustain with their ever-growing listing of grievances. They will’t chill out both.

“I simply was like, I ought to simply do a present about individuals on trip who’ve cash, and the way cash is impacting all of their relationships,” White told The New York Times in 2021, forward of the Season 1 premiere.

Viewers are ready to see what bombshells drop within the finale; prior seasons have included a homicide among the many wealthy resort visitors, who’re pilloried for his or her privilege and lack of self-awareness. Their turmoil is interwoven with the working-class issues of the resort workers.

The plot of Season 3, which was largely filmed in at a 4 Seasons in Thailand, has already included an incestuous sexual encounter between brothers; suicidal and homicidal ideation by a father who unravels as his shady enterprise dealings are threatened with publicity; and ample drug and alcohol use.

Regardless of its themes, manufacturers haven’t been squeamish about tying their names to “The White Lotus.” Barlow informed The New York Occasions this week through e-mail that these “very intentional” partnerships “weren’t designed to talk to the extraordinary storytelling throughout the sequence, however to feed the curiosity many followers have” across the fictional resort chain.

In contrast to memorable product placement of the previous (just like the Eggo waffles in “Stranger Things” or Cinnabon in “Better Call Saul”), these licensed merchandise didn’t seem onscreen, however had been designed for the actual world — for followers to carry into their dwelling rooms, closets and each day life. Neither White nor the present’s manufacturing workforce had been concerned within the branding campaigns.

There was a time when a sudden flurry of licensing offers might be interpreted as a final gasp try at cultural relevance, however that’s not the case with “The White Lotus,” which is considered one of HBO’s largest hits, reaching round 15 million viewers per episode, with some setting viewership highs.

The truth is, on-line fascination with the present helped spur HBO to ramp up the trouble from earlier seasons, which had minimal partnerships. On TikTok alone, latest posts dedicated to “White Lotus” style have been viewed thousands and thousands of time.

“We’ve seen followers turn into enamored with the world by social posts, their theories,” Barlow mentioned, including that followers have been looking for out alternatives to step into the “White Lotus” world.

There may be loads of proof that viewers are keen to purchase into the fantasy that the present sells. The earlier two seasons, set in Hawaii and Italy and filmed at 4 Seasons places, turned both locales into “it” destinations. On-line curiosity within the Maui property jumped by 425 % after Season 1 aired, in response to the corporate.

When it was introduced in February 2024 that Season 3 could be set in Thailand, searches for the Southeast Asian nation jumped 50 % on Expedia, the net journey company.

Dwelling a TV present, so to talk, has become a growing business in recent years, as extra networks and streamers provide immersive, interactive experiences for followers sometimes called model activations or model experiences.

Followers of “Mates” can hang out in Monica and Rachel’s residence. Devotees of Hulu’s comedy-mystery “Solely Murders within the Constructing” might wander all through the Manhattan theater the place Season 3 was filmed forward of the finale and study clues to attempt to resolve the season’s whodunit. In a long-running occasion in New York Metropolis, followers of Netflix’s dystopian blood tub “Squid Sport” participate in variations of the sequence’s twisted playground video games — and are available out alive. (Korean snacks, cocktails and procuring observe.)

Different HBO exhibits like “Sport of Thrones” and “The Final of Us” have obtained related remedy. “These campaigns are all geared toward bringing our authentic sequence to life,” Barlow mentioned, “creating signature experiences that followers can contact and really feel.”

Or as White mentioned in 2021 about what impressed him to create “The White Lotus” to start with: “There’s one thing about vacationing in different individuals’s realities.”