The first shot of “Better Call Saul” opens on a hand holding a spatula. The hand spreads butter on a marble surface before a shadowy mix of spices are spread atop it.
Then, as dough is carefully rolled out and separated with a knife, it becomes clear that what is being made is a Cinnabon, starting one of the most seamless brand partnerships a prestige television show has ever had.
The “Breaking Bad” spinoff’s very first scene captures something many mall-goers have seen before in the periphery but became a front and center part of life for Bob Odenkirk’s character Saul Goodman in his own AMC show.
Now that “Better Call Saul” is ending its sixth and final season on Monday, August 15, Cinnabon is offering a buy one, get one free of its "Center of the Roll" treat to enjoy as we all watch the character hang his Cinnabon visor up for good.
On Monday, fans can redeem the offer using coupon code “CALLSAUL” by using the Cinnabon app and enjoy a Center of the Roll delivered straight to their door so fans can tuck in to the treat as the AMC hit show airs its last outing.
In addition, AMC has a promotion of its own. Fans can redeem a 30-day free trial of AMC+ to watch the entire run of “Better Call Saul” by heading to AMC’s website and using the code “CALLSAUL” at signup.
“We’ve truly enjoyed being part of "Better Call Saul" over the years — it is definitely bittersweet to see it come to an end!” said Michael Alberici, Cinnabon’s vice president of marketing to TODAY Food in an email. “We hope Cinnabon and "Better Call Saul" fans join us next Monday as we say goodbye to our favorite bakery manager.”
If you’re wondering how the “Better Call Saul” writers came up with Goodman’s post-Walter White employment, it actually happened before the first episode of the show. Toward the end of the last season of “Breaking Bad,” character Saul Goodman says, “If I’m lucky, a month from now — best-case scenario — I’m managing a Cinnabon in Omaha.”
While the writers intended that to mean something less-than-ideal for the now-former lawyer, Cinnabon loved the mention so much that it tweeted Odenkirk a job listing for a Cinnabon position. Because of this, the seed was planted and later “Better Call Saul” struck up a partnership with the chain.
Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman finds himself going by the name “Gene Takovic” and working at the purveyor of spiral treats following the events of “Breaking Bad,” and through the entire series, the character is seen in uniform working at a location in a post-”Breaking Bad” timeline. (There’s also a pre-”Breaking Bad” timeline that features heavily into the show, but those hardly involve cinnamon desserts.) There’s even an episode that was lauded for a segment that featured Cinnabon's so heavily that it is endearingly referred to as “The Cinnabon Montage.”
Since a one-line mention snowballed into a supporting role (or a supporting roll if you will) for Cinnabon, the company has cleverly provided the show with a partnership that has gone much deeper than product placement.
Cinnabon even trained Odenkirk on how to be a Cinnabon manager and offered deals like this upcoming promotion and both entities often posted on social media about each other. Truly a match made in Omaha.
You can score a Cinnabon treat via the Cinnabon app and you can watch the final episode of “Better Call Saul” on AMC on Monday at 9 p.m.
