Cup Coloring

November 30, 2017

It’s the holiday season, which really means it is time to embark on a modern American tradition – over analyzing seasonally available Starbucks cups. Starbucks has produced holiday cups for over twenty years, and while some have come and gone with little commotion, others have drawn a lot of controversy. This year’s cup nods to Christmas tradition, including a decorated Christmas tree, proclaiming that “the holiday means something different to everyone”. The coloring concept shows that Starbucks is listening to their customers, who can usually be seen drawing on their cups. The sleeve for hot drinks features the words “Give Good”, the theme of the chain’s holiday campaign. But with each holiday cup launch, there is always a conversation that follows. The Starbucks holiday cup promotion says, “the holidays mean something different to everyone,” and visually viewers see people from different races, genders and sexualities in a marketing video. Toward the end of the promotional clip, the coffee giant shows two women staring at each other over coffee holding hands. Although the clasped hands depicted on the holiday cup is ambiguous, social media is questioning if these are two female hands holding. Our two questions are, so what if they are? And will Starbucks cups ever catch a break?

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