The Boys' personalized ads joke in season 4 episode 5 was inspired by a real Amazon request, says creator
Jul. 1, 2024“We said no thanks, but we’re definitely making a joke about it”
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After season 4’s most recent episode, ‘Beware the Jabberwork, My Son’, aired, creator Eric Kripke took to Twitter to reveal that one of its most meta gags was actually inspired by a real-life request from Amazon.
In the latest instalment, there’s a scene where A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) and The Deep (Chace Crawford) are tasked with attending V52, an event similar to the likes of Comic-Con orDisney’s D23 Expo. While the latter is teasing an upcoming project, he explains that every title will have digitally personalized ads. For instance, if a white person is watching a certain show, like The Deep’s “three-time MTV Award winner” Rising Tide, they’ll see a character holding a bottle of IPA beer, whereas if Black people tune in, they’ll see that same character holding a bottle of peach cognac.
“Y’know, custom digital product placement is a real thing, you guys,” Kripke wrote onTwitter, alongside a link to an article that explains how networks and advertisers are starting to rollout the method. “Amazon pitched it to us for [The Boys], we said no thanks, but we’re definitely making a joke about it in season 4. Then we did.”
The Boys season 4is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping every Thursday. For more, check out our latest coverage on the show:
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I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.
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