I went to Starbucks last night on my typical run for herbal tea and a vanilla scone and didn’t think twice about reaching for my cup. My husband noticed it was a different cup than usual and commented to the baristas that they were already breaking out the Christmas cups. One of them told us that people were complaining about the cups already even though they just came out.
Apparently, last year they were red holiday cups with snowmen and this year they are green with just people:
Starbucks has released its new holiday cup for the 2016 season and it “features a mosaic of more than 100 people drawn in a single stroke — art meant to convey ‘connections’ the company shares between employees and customers.”
The cup is also green this year instead of the usual red color.
“During a divisive time in our country, Starbucks wanted to create a symbol of unity as a reminder of our shared values, and the need to be good to each other,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said in a statement.
Last year’s Starbucks cup was controversial because it had a snowman and snowflakes, foregoing any Christmas icons. The cup represented a “purity of design that welcomes all of our stories.”
This year, the cup just has people.
But Starbucks might still surprise us yet as boxes are stacked up in their shops labelled with “no peeking” until November 10.
Apparently, my local Starbucks didn’t get the memo as yesterday was the 2nd and they were already handing them out as are other stores. Or is something more sinister amiss? Does Starbucks want to sneak in some liberal bias in the form of a cute coffee cup just prior to the election?
It seems that some people are not pleased to be getting politics with their lattes:
This time, some believe the company is trying to influence voters in this final week before the election.
Starbucks says it’s a “Unity Cup” and is supposed to show we’re all connected with more than 100 people drawn with one continuous line on the side of the cup.
But some don’t think the cup is very unifying, claiming it shows a Liberal bias.
One person tweeted: “My coffee should not (and does not) come with political brainwashing. I dropped @starbucks like a hot rock.”
Another wrote: “All Republicans boycott Starbucks.”
What do readers think? Are the Starbucks unity cups about people in the country coming together or about political brainwashing in the form of a cute subtle cup of coffee (or in my case, herbal tea)?
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