July 16, 2019

"Pottery Barn is releasing a new collection inspired by Friends, including accessories, furniture and tabletop items."

"The items [include] the Pottery Barn apothecary table that Rachel convinced Phoebe was a one-of-a-kind antique in a legendary Season 6 episode titled – wait for it – 'The One with the Apothecary Table.' In that classic, Rachel bought the table from a Pottery Barn catalog, and then, upon learning that 'Phoebe hates Pottery Barn' from Monica, try to pass it off as a flea market find."

Deadline reports.

33 comments:

madAsHell said...

Life imitating art.

Ann Althouse said...

What a phenomenal ad PB got out of that show.

Is there any better chance advertisement?

traditionalguy said...
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traditionalguy said...

PB is a great place to buy gifts for your rich kids. They actually like the stuff.Probably because its not like our stuff from Ethan Allen that they associate with 1980s people. At this rate they will all want Pier I handicrafts furniture next.

rehajm said...

So much of their stuff was crap. Maybe a couch or an accessory would be fun. I have the McCoy smiley face mug that was sometimes over the stove. Had it long before them.

rehajm said...

Reeses Pieces in E.T. Twinkines in Zombieland. Eggos in Stranger Things.

Nonapod said...

Reeses Pieces in E.T. Twinkines in Zombieland. Eggos in Stranger Things.

How could you forget Junior Mints in Seinfield?

Amexpat said...


Is there any better chance advertisement?

Most likely this was a paid product placement that worked out very well.

Narr said...

Do they have things that melt?

Narr
Asking for Phoebe's brother

Laslo Spatula said...

Ed Gein slipcovers in 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'.

I am Laslo.

Fen said...

I kept finding things that were cool but not practical.

Like a sharp table stand that wobbles coffee out of my cup.

I relegated it as a reserve surface and now believe it's intended purpose is to fall over and break whatever was resting on top. It got very good at that. Even managed to destroy a wallet.

traditionalguy said...

Once upon a time the neatest place for special furniture designs was The Bombay Company. It was all English knockoffs but sold them at India prices.

Ann Althouse said...

"How could you forget Junior Mints in Seinfield?"

I didn't. I thought of it and excluded it because I don't think it has a tendency to make anybody eat Junior Mints.

Thought about Pez too.

Ann Althouse said...

"Most likely this was a paid product placement that worked out very well."

I considered that, but it's so critical of the place that I tend to think it wasn't product placement. It turned out to be good for them, but it's not how you'd set it up (I don't think) if you straight-out wanted to help them.

It's more like the Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" place (which wasn't named in the episode but was known to people in NYC). That's not something you'd plan and pay for but it did help the business.

Ralph L said...

So, does Phoebe learn the truth?

Thirty years ago, my brother went to Caldor and asked to see the Thane.

I couldn't find a coffee table to go with my mother's parlor furniture. Ended up using a large blanket chest with a tablecloth hiding the back, unfinished side.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

"What a phenomenal ad PB got out of that show."

I wonder what Pottery Barn paid for the placement. Think what Seignfeld did for the J. Peterman catalog. Do you think Friends or Seinfeld did those kind of placements for free?

tim in vermont said...

"I considered that, but it's so critical of the place that I tend to think it wasn't product placement. It turned out to be good for them, but it's not how you'd set it up (I don't think) if you straight-out wanted to help them.”

That would look more like the New Yorker’s profile of Kamala Harris.

MD Greene said...

Barf. This is so wrong.

Last year, when we were considering countertops for a new kitchen, the tile store representative told us that one brand was endorsed by ... Cindy Crawford!

I have nothing against Ms. Crawford, but why would anyone prefer home products because a company paid her to promote them?

Rory said...

Big Bang Theory advertised the Cheesecake Factory for a full seven years. The company seemed to think the exposure outweighed anything silly that was said. And it portrayed people going back again and again.

Rory said...
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rehajm said...

So Apparently THAT Episode Of "Friends" Was Secretly Product Placement For Pottery Barn And We're All Living A Lie

Pottery Barn has reached out to BuzzFeed with a statement:

“Pottery Barn did not pay for product placement of the apothecary table in the eleventh episode of the sixth season of Friends. The table was donated and we continue to be grateful for inclusion in this episode.”

JZ said...

Wow! A Friends episode. Shouldn’t we expect a report on the Friends box set?

madAsHell said...

Ed Gein? My first thought was "It sounds like a Martin Short character".

rehajm said...

Of course one could ClintonParse™ the statement from Pottery Barn to mean Pottery Barn paid beaucoup bucks to place a Pottery Barn lamp in the episode yet the show got the table for free.

If one were so cynical.

Ralph L said...

They didn't pay for placement but for X mentions of "Pottery Barn."

It would have been a more interesting show if it had come from Walmart or Target, but I don't believe there are any in NYC.

Howard said...

Not surprising, parent company Williams & Sonoma is headed up by a team of Rachels.

Gahrie said...

The closest thing called The Pottery Barn to my house is a marijuana dispensary.

Quaestor said...

By "inspired by Friends" Pottery Barn means the products are likely to cause nausea and/or suicidal ennui.

Lawyerspeak.

traditionalguy said...

Phoebe is right as always.

PM said...

PM Rule #62: Never shop at places with Barn in the name.

Bilwick said...

Shouldn't this be about the place in the comments section where someone checks in with "Never watched it"?

RobinGoodfellow said...

I was hoping they would have Joey’s big white dog sculpture.

Ann Althouse said...

“Wow! A Friends episode. Shouldn’t we expect a report on the Friends box set?”

Just you wait. When it happens, it will be huge.