Thanks to ad campaigns from Burger King, Baskin Robbins, Coca-Cola and—inexplicably—the Chicago Cubs, we already knew that the third season of Stranger Things was going to be an ’80s-themed brand bonanza. Now that all eight episodes have been dropped, binged, and dissected (don’t worry, no spoilers here), we have some data on the brands that appear in the show.
Concave Brand Tracking, a UK-based firm that tracks and analyzes brands in entertainment, found more than 100 brands in ST3 and broke it down to nearly 45 different product types, with cars, drinks, shoes, stores, and food as the five most common. Episode one had the least brand presence, while the eighth and last episode of this season had the most. Fourteen brands actually appeared in the show’s dialogue, with Smirnoff popping up four times. Now, it’s also important to remember Netflix says that there is no official product placement, and no brands have paid to be featured on the show.
Here are the top-10 most visible brands in Stranger Things season three:
1. Coca-Cola
The brand got a head start with the announcement that it was bringing back a limited run of New Coke—the company’s most infamous marketing and product flop—to help promote its involvement in the show. Characters drank Coke, its machine was a clear prop, and the logo always seemed to be creeping around.
2. Cadillac
Again, no spoilers, but all hail the 1984 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible.
3. Chevrolet
Aside from the Caddy, Chevy took up a lot of the road in Hawkins, thanks to Chief Hopper’s glorious 1987 Blazer and Billy Hargrove’s 1979 Camaro.
4. Casio
The preferred watch of both Hopper and Mike Wheeler racked up more than eight minutes of screen time over the season, more than any other brand. It would’ve been even higher on this list, except for the fact that our exposure to these characters’ wrists was rather discreet.
5. 7-Eleven
Watch for the convenience store in episode five, plus a bonus Slurpee scene in episode six.
6. Sharp
The electronics brand got some decent screen time in episode one, thanks to Eleven’s tape deck and Joyce Byers’s microwave dinner.
7. Adidas
The three-stripes brand is the shoe of choice for the dynamic duo of Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson.
8. Pentax
Whether you’re spying in the mall or trying to photograph a demonic rat, Dustin Henderson and Jonathan Byers will tell you the brand they trust.
9. Reebok
The brand had an official collaboration for season two, but we actually see Eleven rocking the Freestyle Hi’s for a lot of this season.
10. Burger King
The brand only logged two minutes of official screen time, despite its logo being spotted in five of the eight episodes. That said, when you saw it, it hit like an (Upside Down) Whopper to the face.
Honorable mention
It didn’t make the Top 10, but I’d also just like to take a moment for a special shout-out to Schlitz, the Official Morning, Noon, or Night Beer of Chief Hopper.