All The Product Placement You Never Noticed In Shameless

The showtime series Shameless is known for its cast of edgy, counter-cultural characters that, as the name implies, often openly act for their own benefit. It's odd then, how a show about doing things one's own way regardless of the expense finds itself shamelessly advertising for other companies across many episodes in its 11 seasons.

Just a few of these numerous cases of product placement were pointed out by users on the Shameless Subreddit several months ago. Fans noticed everything from Sunny D to Kentucky Fried Chicken and even grocery stores like Costco and Aldi being featured in multiple episodes. Most of the time these appearances simply include the product in question in a shot.

It should be noted that none of these instances are confirmed to be product placement. Instead, many of these brands show up with enough frequency that there's an increased likelihood of them being genuine advertisements.

Regardless, fans didn't react with any negativity toward the possible product placement. In fact, some even felt as if it fit the characters and setting. "They're also really poor and [Sunny D is] cheaper than real orange juice," wrote user u/atmyuaintgotnoalibi. "It makes sense for them to cut corners that way."

Other instances of what is probably product placement were cataloged in another Reddit post several years ago. This time, fans pointed out that many popular brands from the Midwest, such as RC Cola and Old Style Beer, were featured in episodes. 

Again, fans had very little that was negative to say about the product placement. The original poster of the thread noted that it seemed "excessive and distracting," but this point of view was not shared by most commenters.

"It all felt very natural to me," wrote one Redditor. "Yes, there were real-life products around and mentioned, but it never gave me a second thought."

It seems as though as long as Shameless sticks to letting the product placement take a back seat to the characters and story, then fans are completely satisfied. Oddly enough, fans seem to react more negatively when the show uses generic brands, or even fake sound-alikes, as replacements for the real thing.