The Taylor Swift effect marches on. Fans flocked to The Black Dog, a London pub that scored a track on Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department – despite the singer herself never visiting the spot.
Lyrics for “The Black Dog” recount how Swift watched as a former flame (but which one?) who left location services enabled on his phone headed “into some bar called The Black Dog.”
The pub quickly caught on, posting on Instagram the day the album dropped and offering a “Swift Half” special.
The pub was fully booked with lines out the door when the singer’s Eras Tour hit town for three sold-out dates in late June – including the debut of the song in her live set. Great for business, but unfortunately, many Swift fans also walked out with The Black Dog’s branded pint glasses (perhaps while humming “You Belong With Me”?). Some have posted their purloined pint glasses – as well as pub menus – for sale on eBay.
IMAGE: The Black Dog via Instagram
The Sun (U.S. edition) quotes one staffer saying: “It’s always so busy now. It was never like this. We have had to stop using branded pint glasses and now have plain ones only as they were getting nicked and we had none left.”
This comes a month after a report that The Black Dog had already repainted its bathrooms twice due to Swiftie graffiti like “We love TS” since the eponymous song’s release in mid-April.
But there’s no “Bad Blood” here – the pub has leaned hard into the Swift spotlight, celebrating the name drop on its social media accounts, adding a mural celebrating the song to an interior wall, playing Swift’s biggest hits on concert days – and, naturally, launching a collection of merchandise (ahem) tailored to the tastes of its new fan base.
Items bearing The Black Dog logo include cropped and unisex tees and hoodies in bright white and a few earthy shades, plus totes, caps and a travel mug. Other designs include a line drawing of the pub’s exterior or a specific reference to the song’s lyrics with “… some bar called” above the logo. There’s even a tee and hoodie with “Location Services” and a green “on” button. Available online, each purchase is produced on demand.
IMAGES: theblackdogvauxhall.co.uk/store
Local London newspaper Hampstead & Highgate Express reports that many Swift fans did ask to buy The Black Dog’s branded pint glasses, but those aren’t on offer in the shop.
London & Partners Media estimates that tourists attending Swift’s record-breaking eight sold-out shows in London – three in June, five more in August – will boost the city’s economy by almost $380 million. Clearly the Swift connection has already been a boon to The Black Dog’s bottom line. It’s a great example of a business seizing a golden opportunity, but it remains to be seen whether the pub will replenish its supply of branded pint glasses or add them to the merch mix.
RELATED: Mama Kelce Cashes In For Charity With A Game Day T-shirt
