Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Friends: A Bottle of O-Positive. Serve Warm!
My wife and I are fanatically addicted to the HBO series, "True Blood". For those who have not watched it -- or read the books -- the story is set in a world where vampires have come "out of the coffin" so to speak, to live and coexist with the rest of us mere mortals. What has made it possible for vampire-kind to shed their shroud of secrecy (and theoretically stop killing and feeding on people) is the invention of a synthetic blood, aptly named "Tru-Blood". It comes in bottles labeled with the different "flavors"; O-Positive, A-Negative, etc. Before consuming, the bottle must be briefly heated in the microwave to 98.6 degrees.
Our favorite character on the show is the flamboyantly gay Lafayette Reynolds, artfully played by the young actor Nelsan Ellis. By day Lafayette is the fussy, "don't fuck with me I'm hungover" short-order cook at Sam Merlotte's Bar & Grill. By night, he prowls the vampire underworld as a male prostitute whose vamp johns pay him with vials of their own blood. You see, vampire-blood, or "V", as its known, is a powerful hallucinogen when ingested by normal humans. Oh yes! Thrill seekers pay big bucks for just a few drops of The V. It is very illegal, and very addictive. (Not only that, if the Vamps find out you're dealing their blood, we'll let's just say that's the end of you! You see, Vampires have been killed for their blood).
So basically, Lafayette is a gay whore and "V" dealer. Love it!
So, why on earth do I blog about this on Rancho de Tequila?
Because there's a subversive little product-placement situation happening on this show, and it has to do with Tequila.
You see, while some people are imbibing "V" or Tru-Blood or Beer, Lafayette is never without his glass of Patron. He is regularly seen padding around with a high-ball glass of silver and a twist of lime sunk in to the glass. No ice. When Lafayette runs low, he walks out from the kitchen and around to the bar at Merlotte's, grabs the Patron bottle and tops off his glass. At noon!
Lafayette with his ever-present glass of Patron...
Anyone who knows me knows I am no big fan of Patron, but I do love this aspect of the character of Lafayette. He likes Tru-Agave! Pura Sangre!
I wonder how much the Patron company pays for this subtle -- this subversive -- product placement?
True Blood's HBO Homepage
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