Episode #1 "Brother's Keeper"

[dragon48]

I'm starting another binge-watching session, and just finished this episode.  What kind of whiskey does Crockett have on the boat?  The following screengrab is from around the 1 hour and six-minute mark, just before Tubbs comes abord and gets threatened with the flare gun.  

The word "Wild," is obvious, but It's not possible to make out the rest from the part of the bottle that was in frame.  Is this an actual bottle of Wild Turkey, something else commercially available, or just a fake Hollywood label, deliberately partially obscured? 

 

Edited April 19 by dragon48

[vicegirl85]

I'll hazard a guess that this is a fake Hollywood label.  I googled "Wild Turkey Bourbon" images and studied the logos of the various bottles (Wild Turkey makes a number of different age/ proof bourbons).  The font and label don't really look like anything I was able to pull up, although I don't know whether their logo and labels was formatted differently 40 years ago (I mean the other day!).

[Robbie C.]

Judging from what we can see of the side of the front label in this image, I'd guess it's actually Wild Turkey. Back then you didn't see near as many varieties of stuff. It also wasn't considered especially high-end at the time, either.

[dragon48]

1 hour ago, Robbie C. said:

Judging from what we can see of the side of the front label in this image, I'd guess it's actually Wild Turkey. Back then you didn't see near as many varieties of stuff. It also wasn't considered especially high-end at the time, either.

If this is the case though, then I can't imagine this was a sponsored placement, as if it were, the full label would be prominently displayed and better lit.  The bottle was darker before I edited it in Photoshop.  

If it is the real thing, maybe the production crew just had a bottle lying around.

Edited April 20 by dragon48

[Crockettt]

I'm 99% sure this is a bottle of Wild Turkey.
Look at the font and location of the description on the label

Edited April 20 by Crockettt

[pahonu]

15 hours ago, dragon48 said:

If this is the case though, then I can't imagine this was a sponsored placement, as if it were, the full label would be prominently displayed and better lit.  The bottle was darker before I edited it in Photoshop.  

If it is the real thing, maybe the production crew just had a bottle lying around.

This wasn’t product placement at all for all the reasons you mention, plus another.  Product placement was very uncommon at the time when the three networks dominated and mass audience appeal was king.  Showing a particular product reduced advertising revenue opportunities.  Why would Coke pay for an ad slot on a show that featured Pepsi placement.  
 

I think this wasn’t relevant in this particular instance because advertising of liquor on TV was not legal, so there could be no competitors.  They simply used an existing bottle rather than going to the trouble of creating a false label.  It was also not particularly featured in the scene as you explained.
 

Beer, on the other hand, was a different story and labels were created.  I recall seeing on the Carol Burnett Show many years ago, skits where the characters held cans with the label reading Beer!   This added to the humor.  Another example is Magnum pi, from the same era.  It frequently referenced a fictitious beer called Old Düsseldorf and another called Coops that looked strikingly like a Coors labels in its design.

[ViceFanMan]

29 minutes ago, pahonu said:

This wasn’t product placement at all for all the reasons you mention, plus another.  Product placement was very uncommon at the time when the three networks dominated and mass audience appeal was king.  Showing a particular product reduced advertising revenue opportunities.  Why would Coke pay for an ad slot on a show that featured Pepsi placement.  
 

I think this wasn’t relevant in this particular instance because advertising of liquor on TV was not legal, so there could be no competitors.  They simply used an existing bottle rather than going to the trouble of creating a false label.  It was also not particularly featured in the scene as you explained.
 

Beer, on the other hand, was a different story and labels were created.  I recall seeing on the Carol Burnett Show many years ago, skits where the characters held cans with the label reading Beer!   This added to the humor.  Another example is Magnum pi, from the same era.  It frequently referenced a fictitious beer called Old Düsseldorf and another called Coops that looked strikingly like a Coors labels in its design.

I remember the “Magnum beer” , and Dukes of Hazzard used fake beer labels as well. 

[ViceFanMan]

4 hours ago, Crockettt said:

I'm 99% sure this is a bottle of Wild Turkey.
Look at the font and location of the description on the label

Yeah, that definitely looks like a real bottle of Wild Turkey. Even the wrapping around the necks & the tops of the bottles match.

[pahonu]

18 minutes ago, ViceFanMan said:

I remember the “Magnum beer” , and Dukes of Hazzard used fake beer labels as well. 

You can actually buy Coops Beer T-shirts. 

 

[ViceFanMan]

1 hour ago, pahonu said:

You can actually buy Coops Beer T-shirts. 

 

No thanks, lol…I’ll leave that to Magnum.   And only Magnum could enjoy beer after a workout on the beach, and have no effects.  

[vicegirl85]

10 hours ago, Crockettt said:

I'm 99% sure this is a bottle of Wild Turkey.
Look at the font and location of the description on the label

I take my hat off to you--this bottle does look almost identical to the one shown on the show.  I didn't find any with the UPC code or a lot of small print text in google Images.  With improved lighting and resolution I think we could confirm it 100%.