While most marketers know that creating controversy can be a great way to market, there are definitely dangers involved when you get close to crossing the line. Starbucks (Nasdaq:SBUX) may have done that with their new logo, which shows a woman with her legs spread on the cup.
Stories cite what is called a "fringe" Christian group as those that protest the image on the cup, but that has no relevancy to the issue.
Does that mean that all women and men who think this is an outrage are on the fringes of society? Do all men and women think it's a good thing to present a woman with her legs spread on a cup as representative of women?
This is probably a calculated move by Starbucks, which has been struggling to find its way again, as competitors cut into their market share and consumers abandon them in droves. I think this is a mistake, because it's an attempt to make Starbucks look like a victim of a nutty group, when in reality a large portion of American society will find this offensive.
One moron commenting on the story said this: "I find more negativity in the war than in a silly little picture."
Let's see. We have a picture of a woman looking like she's spreading her legs, and somehow some idiot connects that with the negativity of a war? This is someone that needs help.
The new logo will evidently be placed on Starbucks' cups for a couple months.
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It really is brilliant marketing. It is their original logo from the first store, and any publicity (good or bad) is good publicity.
So the more groups that want to boycott starbucks, the more press they get.
Posted by: Eric Prince | May 15, 2008 10:43 PM | Permalink to Comment