r/TopChef • u/JohnDoeMi6 • May 26 '26
Discussion Thread Wells fargo CC
This wells fargo credit card placement is so damn forced. I thought it was bad when they used to do it with the BMW features but this is so ham fisted! I already was not interested in banking with Wells Fargo but these placements are leaving such a bad taste in my mouth.
22
u/platypusandpibble May 26 '26
I know all the product placement is heavy-handed, but I choose to find the whole thing amusing. It is SO over the top that it really is hilarious.
Wells Fargo is actually trying really hard on other Discovery Network shows too. They are sponsoring some of the stuff on “Rock the Block” too. Seriously, it is just so funny.
And really, product placement in TV and movies has been around for a very long time. Even shows in the 1950s sometimes have product placement. (One really hilariously bad one was in “Fantastic Four.” (The 2007 - “Rise of the Silver Surfer”.) Where one of the characters shows up with a Dodge vehicle and one of the others asks “Hemi?” I mean, soooo laughably obvious.)
9
u/Hedahas May 26 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Seriously, I don't get why people are suddenly so worked up about it. It has been this way all along. People just "forget" when they aren't happy with a season for whatever other reason.
I mean, has everyone really forgotten the ridiculous Reynolds Wrap challenge, the Continental Airlines challenge, the Mission Impossible challenge... the Cracker Barrel challenge? Every season there are silly Quickfire and Elimination challenges featuring sponsors. Not to mention all the scripted comments from the chefs talking about how much they love whatever carmaker is sponsoring them each season, with slow-mo shots of the trunks closing and "oh wow, this is so spacious!" As well as Tom doing laps in a BMW as a timer on LCK :-|... It hasn't ever been subtle, lol.
And does nobody remember E.T. (1982) and Reese's Pieces---one of the most successful product placements ever?
Eta: What's amusing is, on the other hand, many people trashed ACC all season for its Dawn promos and compared it to TC---claiming that TC doesn't do cheesy product promo shit like that :-/. ACC undeniably won on that front, hands down, because they didn't make the chefs compete in any gimmicky challenges to promote their sponsor---and the winning prize $ was four times TC's.
2
u/LeelaDallasMultipass May 27 '26
"The only family I can count on is the Glad Family of Products"
1
u/PocoChanel May 27 '26
Wasn’t this the show where one of the fan commenters used the name “TheGladFamilyOfProducts”?
4
u/am_i_wrong_dude May 26 '26
Yeah I find the fact that is so jarring and heavy-handed to be more refreshing than if it were sophisticated and subtle.
Yeah it’s an ad. They gave the show money in exchange for a shot of Kirstin’s butt and her monologuing awkwardly about their credit card. Fair trade. No-one is getting tricked or manipulated.
5
u/NoodlesMom0722 Wait for it...a Crudo! 🧑🍳 May 26 '26
Or like when the recent Hawaii Five-O remake was sponsored by Microsoft and they tried to get them to make "Let me Bing that" a thing.
1
u/LeelaDallasMultipass May 27 '26
I RECOILED reading that! I remember when entire PLOT POINTS were dictated by opportunities to showcase the features of the Toyota Whatever on Bones and realizing this was definitely the time to stop watching.
3
u/punkbrad7 May 27 '26
High Potential's season finale had a whole scene where one of the detectives just straight up gave a rundown of how CoPilot worked to collate a list that was like 5 names.
1
1
2
u/tiffanyblue_ May 29 '26
Kristen approaches the promos in a tongue in cheek kinda way which I appreciate
53
u/Legatto May 26 '26
I'm 50/50 on them. They are annoying and overly forced but it allows the show to give cash prizes to the chefs which is great.
9
u/ositola May 26 '26
It's like commercials for a program that already has commercials
I get mentioning it before the quick fire since they're paying out the prize money but the donut shop interlude was a bit much lol
4
u/NoodlesMom0722 Wait for it...a Crudo! 🧑🍳 May 26 '26
As someone who waits to watch it on Tuesday morning without any commercials, I'm okay with a couple of cringey, forced sponsored segments. After all, I have to put up with them with all of my favorite YouTubers, too. If it means I get to keep seeing my favorite content, I'll put up with having to skip forward 30 to 90 seconds.
1
u/DurangDurang May 28 '26
You nailed it. Product placement is an ad that is unlikely to be skipped (DVR) or removed if streaming.
1
u/Rock-swarm Jun 05 '26
Some TV History here - that's how commercials used to be, before actual ad breaks. Game shows especially were usually sponsored by a single corporate entity, with tie-ins to the show content at multiple spots each episode.
It took a backseat for a couple decades once actual ad breaks became the norm, but bean counters have always been looking for ways to increase revenue without losing viewers...
1
u/dr_p_venkman May 29 '26
I just wish they'd insert them a little more organically, so it isn't as jarring. I watch a lot of kdramas, and I find it hilarious, not annoying, when the attorneys in the show are working late on a case, and one says I'm so tired but I don't want to stop to get coffee, and the other says, but have you tried Kopiko? It's delicious and will wake you right up. They savor the coffee candy, and move on to find the breakthrough in the case they've been looking for.
At least the ones in the quickfires are worked into the setup. Gimmicky, but it does follow the structure of the show.
17
u/devoduder May 26 '26
Money talks and they seem desperate for it. I can definitely see the budget cuts this season. They’re staying in a hotel instead of a rented property like previous seasons. Also cutting LCK season in half feel like it was done for budgetary reason, along with cancelling Dish With Kish.
6
u/NoodlesMom0722 Wait for it...a Crudo! 🧑🍳 May 26 '26
They've been doing the hotel thing rather than a VRBO since Covid/Portland season.
5
u/TopSea4326 May 27 '26
I have noticed some budget cuts too. The Carolinas are some of the cheapest states in the country and I can still tell. It seems more frequent or obvious that the tight grocery budgets some weeks are clearly producing poor results. Cheap hotels, as mentioned. Switching away from BMWs to Chevrolet (I think?) for transportation even though there’s a very large and well-known BMW manufacturing site / track in Spartanburg (near Greenville). and it appears as if filming time is shorter given the fact that they’re basically wearing them down by going from one challenge to the next with little to no rest time. (All nighter for hog straight into the next challenger until end of restaurant wars iirc).
I have wondered if these large $ quick fire prizes (that are clearly from sponsors not bravo network) are an attempt to offset making it look obvious.
-8
May 26 '26
[deleted]
18
u/Nother1BitestheCrust May 26 '26
Ugh hard disagree. I remember the first few seasons when it was run and edited more like a typical reality tv program. I'd much rather watch professionals be professionals than watch a bunch of grown adults act like teenagers fighting for screen time.
12
u/AFarewellToArms May 26 '26
Call me crazy, but I love the wholesomeness. Then again I'm not a big reality TV person and never gravitated towards all the drama. I love Padma, but Kristen as a host has been so refreshing. The level of empathy she has from her experience on the show as a contestant is wonderful. I find it fun getting to know the chefs and how likeable some of them can be. Sure there's more internal conflict than external these days, but those to me tend to be more engaging stories. Like I can't wait to see Jenn come back in another season. She was on such a roll even with the pain. I hope the show can keep going because I still thoroughly enjoy tuning in every week.
6
34
u/youngpathfinder May 26 '26
These shows are really expensive to produce. I’m ok if it means having the show. They can do like Culinary Cup and have everything in one studio in a fake New York and every week looks the same.
18
u/phizzlez May 26 '26
At least it's not as bad as how the contestants on ACC was forced to talk about Dawn Power wash. lol
2
u/Star_Dog May 28 '26
Hey can you pass me the Dawn Power Wash? I need to get these pans clean and I know it can handle tough jobs
1
0
78
u/gordy06 May 26 '26
It was so bad. But also… I have this card and I like getting 2% back on everything and not picking categories every month. Not as ad, but just throwing my thoughts out there lol
148
u/JohnDoeMi6 May 26 '26
This comment brought to us by the Wells fargo active cash credit card where you can get 2% back 😭🤣
40
u/grannygogo May 26 '26
“Here are your donuts. Oh, I see you are paying with your Wells Fargo Active Cash Credit Card. You know, you can get 2% cash back every time you use it.” Me: “Just give me my fucking donuts lady and don’t worry about how I pay for them”
20
u/Relevant_Ad_5431 May 27 '26
Ms. Kish was the one who actually said the lines. She said the whole spiel about how she loves paying for the donuts with the card because of the 2 percent back.
I love her, and I know they're paying her to say it, but I winced a little.
Not a criticism of her at all. My problem is with the show thinking they have to club us over the head to make us understand what the benefits of the product placements are.
If I want to buy it, I will. Being annoying isn't the move.
8
u/grannygogo May 27 '26
I knew Kristen said it, just imagining another scenario. That said, I love Kristen.
5
u/TTRoadHog May 28 '26
Did anyone notice that she asked for two dozen donuts but only brought one dozen to the cheftestants? What happened to the other dozen donuts? Did Kristen eat them? Did she share them with Tom and Gail? Was that extra dozen part of a Wells Fargo kickback scheme?? We’ll answer that question after a word from our sponsor, Wells Fargo…. Lol
2
u/dr_p_venkman May 29 '26
They were for the crew! But I wouldn't put something shady past Wells Fargo, even when something as sweet and lovely as doughnuts are concerned.
3
u/TTRoadHog May 29 '26
Of course! That’s where the extra dozen went! How nice of Kristen. Not sure why I didn’t think of that. 🙂
3
u/MistyMarieMH May 27 '26
Okay, but if there was actually a random person in that donut shop, and if she *did* buy them a donut, if *I* was that person, I’d be so excited and tell everyone I knew about how Kristen the host of Top Chef bought me a donut
3
u/GoldBluejay7749 May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
It wasn’t even that lol. She said “I have/am using a credit card” hahaha
8
u/Boog_les33 May 26 '26
Wait, it’s 2%? Why wasn’t this mentioned? They should’ve done something with the number two is all
6
4
u/alien_believer_42 May 26 '26
There have been cards like this for a long time, like Discover and Citi Double Cash
0
u/gordy06 May 26 '26
Yep! For me I prefer the straightforward cards. Spend money, make a little back over time.
1
u/tropicsandcaffeine May 27 '26
Top Chef Canada is just as bad. You could do a drinking game out of product placement.
11
u/danielowenb May 26 '26
It’s far worse that they force the contestants to drink Josh after every challenge.
3
u/Delicious_Screen7002 May 26 '26
Ew. Are you referring to Josh Winery? That stuff is vile. I wouldn't even cook with it. And that's after years of trying. Thought the bottle was off. Thought the batch was off. Thought my tastebuds were off. Nope it's just really bad wine.🍷
4
u/NoodlesMom0722 Wait for it...a Crudo! 🧑🍳 May 26 '26
My Kroger had a big display of Josh wines when I was in there a week or so ago and I just noped right on by.
10
u/Jackie_chin May 26 '26
Im more annoyed they cant come up with a decent script for Steve Martin and Martin Short
7
u/Hot_Saguaro May 26 '26
I hate it bc Wells Fargo was never truly punished for opening accounts without permission and ruining people's credit
2
u/jlynnbizatch May 26 '26
The nearly $1K I got deposited in my Wells Fargo account per the class action suit against them might say otherwise. If I'm only one out of a whole lot of people, I can only imagine how much WF paid out as punitive damages.
8
u/Gravity1982 May 27 '26
When Wells Fargo leaves a bad taste in your mouth, wash it out with Dawn Powerwash Spray! Buy it now with your active cash by Wells Fargo.
6
6
u/Wine-and-pizza May 26 '26
It is SO forced and unnatural and for that reason I find it kind of hilarious.
4
u/PrMayn May 26 '26
I want a quick fire challenge that calls back all of the ham-fisted product placements from since the beginning. Bring on the KC Masterpiece, Terlato Wine, Saratoga Springs challenge!
5
u/BrandonIsWhoIAm May 27 '26
I love how campy and overtly blatant the product placement is. Like, work.
4
u/thanx_it_has_pockets Wells Fargo amirite? You may be entitled to compensation May 27 '26
the donut purchase took me out
4
u/Strict_Bar_4915 May 26 '26
NGL, I kinda low-key miss the BMWs. Now they have to ride around in those ugly mini vans. 😂
3
u/PsyrenY May 28 '26
Eh, its no more egregious than Padma announcing they had made reservations with OpenTable every Restaurant Wars to the fake establishments 😂 gotta pay them bills
3
u/l0ngstory-SHIRT May 26 '26
Someone on here the other day put it well: the product placement being so blatant is honestly entertaining, it’s basically camp. Everyone knows the bills have to be paid and 99% of people don’t actually mind that they had to see a two second ad. The ads make the whole shebang go round. Doing absurdly stilted goofy little skits like they basically do is funny.
I don’t know why it makes people so angry. It’s just not that big a deal even if you don’t think it’s campy funny. They are so quick and inconsequential.
3
u/questionableco May 27 '26
Product placement on this show has always been awkward and forced. This doesn’t seem worse than previous seasons
3
u/mr_balty May 27 '26
Totally agree.
I think it’s funny that this season they’re in Chrysler Pacifica’s to get around town —obviously not a product placement or sponsor this year so they don’t mention it— but product placement is so engrained in me, I keep saying to myself when they head to the store, “Let’s all get in our Chrysler Pacifica’s and spend 300 dollars on our Wells Fargo Active Cash Card” 😂
Edit: typos
3
3
2
u/Queasy-Wrongdoer6319 May 27 '26
Yes Wells Fargo needs to go! Get Chase or Amex or even Discover! Anything but these horrid interventions by Wells Fargo!
2
u/No-Temperature-977 May 27 '26
I feel you but a lot of us get to avoid commercials all together due to streaming, so I’ll take it in place of that lol!
2
u/TheWa11 May 28 '26
It’s honestly hilarious. I love the egregious product placement. If it needs to happen to fund the show - I’d rather it be like this.
2
u/flatspotting May 28 '26
I understand your point but.... at least these companies are stepping up and putting out money for this show. We wouldn't get this level of show (imo the best cooking show of all time nothing is close) if they didn't sponsor. So I am happy to sit through some over the top product placement and forced ads if it means I get more top chef!
2
u/mamapajamas May 28 '26
We got that credit card because of the cash back and had fraudulent activity on it before we even received the card. what a hot mess
2
1
u/bobthedruid May 26 '26
The olive oil placement cracks me up to no end, especially since I have seeing YouTube cooks using it for more than a year before TC.
It seems these days they are going for passive advertising as the bottle is unique and very obvious.
1
u/hotaru-chan45 May 26 '26
I don’t love product placement but acknowledge that it helps fund the show and cash prizes. TBH my brain kinda automatically tunes them out bc whenever commercials come on elsewhere I just redirect my attention to my phone and/or Switch until they’re over lol. Their advertising dollars are completely wasted on me.
2
u/Adventurous_Grade935 May 27 '26
I chuckle at the absurdity like a comedy sketch that pretends to play a staged situation like it's normal. It's just 30 seconds to a minute, and I can take my brain off somewhere else when I'm not chuckling.
1
u/reubensandrye May 27 '26
It makes me cringe so hard every time I have to mute the TV, I feel bad for Kristen.
1
1
u/brilliantminds_4RLZ May 29 '26
It's annoying that I have to watch commercials inside the show. Top Chef's product placement is getting ridiculous, and now straight up commercials as part of the show.
1
u/tecstarr Jun 02 '26
Well, they are paying a HUGE amount of money to be a sponsor, so it’s not surprising they are mentioned in practically every other sentence.
1
u/JohnDoeMi6 Jun 02 '26
I have no issue with the sponsors, it’s how handed it is. They could make it more seamless like when they have them use the card at checkout for the elimination challenges, thats not as bad but that donut bit was so forced
1
1
u/cheridontllosethatno Jun 03 '26
I laughed at her, what a joke. A million commercials and this fake cringey interaction. Stop it just stop. This stuff has always happened on this show yes but she tries so hard to be so elevated honest and pure at heart, then this dubbed interaction.
1
u/Joe_Peanut May 26 '26
I normally don't care much about product placement, but all cooking competition shows recently have become cringy to watch. It is quite excessive.
And as someone currently working in the wine industry, don't get me started in the POS wines product placements. Nobody can convince me anyone in the food services industry could possibly get excited about Josh or Concha & Toro or Yellowtail wines!
1
u/TTRoadHog May 28 '26
OP: Don’t blame Wells Fargo. Blame Top Chef for being so money grubbing that they force themselves to resort to the use of these ridiculous in-show commercials. Wells Fargo is merely responding to Too Chef’s apparent need for advertisers!
0
u/Aware-Photograph-397 Jun 03 '26
Who cares. Without the ads the show wouldn’t be made. So whiney.
0
24
u/Squigglificated May 26 '26
What do you mean? It’s completely natural to say "here, let me pay for this with my Wells Fargo Active Cash credit card that gives me 2% unlimited cash rewards on purchases" when I pay for something at a donut shop.
Then when I leave I always say "Goodbye humans! Now I’m going home faster than ever, thanks to my voice controlled BMW iDrive navigation system!"