War on Christmas? Starbucks cups cause social media outcry
By MAE ANDERSON

NEW YORK (AP) — It's as red as Santa's suit, a poinsettia or your neighbor's ugly Christmas sweater. Yet Starbucks' stark new holiday coffee cup has set off complaints that the chain is making war on Christmas.

The outcry — which gained in intensity after Donald Trump suggested boycotting the coffee chain — illustrates the fine line companies must walk during the all-important holiday season: They want to stand out from their competitors, but not go so far as to offend or unsettle.

"The challenge is that the holiday language is same for everything," said Allen Adamson, founder of BrandSimple Consulting. "Everyone does it, so how do you do it in a way that's distinctive? If you push too far with distinctiveness, you might end up ruffling feathers."

Since 1997, Starbucks has offered holiday drinks in a festive red cup, adorned with such things as Christmas ornaments, reindeer and snowflakes. This year's design is minimalist: vivid red, with nothing but the familiar green Starbucks logo.

Starbucks executives said they wanted to embrace "simplicity and quietness" and show that the coffee shops are a "sanctuary" during the holidays. The company also reminded customers that it is selling its Christmas Blend of coffee as usual this year.

But some religious conservatives saw the new cup as an affront to tradition and yet another example of what some have called the "war on Christmas" — the taking of religion out of the Yuletide season by doing such things as greeting customers with "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."

On Twitter, where the topic became a sensation, some people were upset over the cup, while others said they didn't understand what the big deal was.

Trump weighed in on Monday by saying, "Maybe we should boycott Starbucks." He added: "If I become president, we're all going to be saying, 'Merry Christmas' again. That I can tell you."

And a group called Faith Driven Consumer urged people to go to Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme instead.

At a Starbucks in downtown Los Angeles that was decked out with decorations touting the Christmas Blend, customer Ray Velasco said he doesn't give much thought to how companies market during the holidays, especially when it's barely November.

"There's so much stuff going on in the world, I just can't pay attention to every controversy," he said.

Lara Reynolds sipped the Christmas Blend and dismissed the social-media furor with a wave: "It's ridiculous. I've been trying to ignore it."

Kit Yarrow, a professor of psychology and marketing at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, said some people seized on the cup for the same reason many Americans have been captivated by Trump's "anti-PC" stance.

"A lot of people are really just constantly on the lookout for some vehicle to express anger and dissatisfaction, and this is the vehicle du jour," she said.

In part, the outcry has to do with the unexpectedly plain design, which proved to be too much change for some people, said marketing consultant Laura Ries.

"Over the years, they had some whimsical holiday designs, and that's what people got accustomed to seeing," she said. "They chose a modernistic, blank, stark look to the cup that was such a departure it got people anxious."

She likened the flap to a similarly stark redesign by Tropicana in 2009, when the company gave its leafy orange packaging a more abstract look. The change made Tropicana juice almost unrecognizable, sales plummeted, and Tropicana went back to the original design.

It's not the first time Starbucks has caused a flap with its cup.

In March, Starbucks asked baristas to write "Race Together" on customers' cups to spark conversation about race. But many didn't want a debate with their brew, and Starbucks abandoned the campaign quickly.

"People aren't looking for that cup to be this huge billboard," Ries said. "They just want to enjoy their coffee."
___

AP Writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-11-11

White people's problems.

This is when your life is so amazing, that you make shit up to be upset about.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=White+People+Problems

Edited November 10, 201510 yr by Jingthing

What a load of ca ca. Anyone with a job that can afford Starbucks should be happy they have employment.

Too many 'special snowflakes' gettin 'offended' these days. PC is waaay outa control. .

The issues at hands are ever so trivial, the free publicity, good or bad, Priceless.....

people in power who don't want to deal with real problems, are making up imaginary ones to deflect instead, and the silly public is eating it up (gooood boy!)

Private company doing whatever it sees fit to do within the law. Shouldn't be any other way. Only socialists would have an issue with that.

Distracted by distraction to distraction.

SOCIAL MEDIA OUTCRY? So 1,000 idiots are so easily offended that they post stupid comments. War on Christmas. You cannot wage war against anything except human beings.

What utter stupidity.

And in other news, I declared war on laughter, physics and other intangibles..

What a load of ca ca. Anyone with a job that can afford Starbucks should be happy they have employment.

Too many 'special snowflakes' gettin 'offended' these days. PC is waaay outa control. .

I shall never drink coffee at Starbucks. Not because of the design of their cups but because they sell such lousy coffee.

Well we are nearing Christmas and its time for Bill O'Reilly and the rest of the clowns on Fox to whip themselves into the annual imaginary war on Christmas issue. Someone really has to tell Bill that if he ever existed its highly unlikely that Jesus was born on the 25th December and that Santa Claus and Christmas trees are not in the bible.

Private company doing whatever it sees fit to do within the law. Shouldn't be any other way. Only socialists would have an issue with that.

Actually the media "outcry" is from pseudo-Christian, psuedo-conservatives calling themselves Republicant's.

Tempest in a coffee cup......

A simple cup of personalised coffee is what we're talking about here

Trump the political whore is trying to grab headlines over this too while other politicos pay it the little or no attention that is more appropriate. As far as I know HRClinton and Sen Sanders haven't seen a problem period and neither has POTUS. Congress has passed no Resolutions on it .

Hope no one has to scale another proposed Trump wall to get a coffee while Christmas shopping. .

Give us a season's and holiday break plse thx

It's not like there's anything else in the world to be concerned about.

Who cares Starbucks coffee is rubbish , Frankly

I hope this brings SBUX down below $50 so I can buy more... you can't beat the business model.

Christmas is an extremely profitable time for many business, it is not about religion, but religion is evil...Trump is an idiot and I do not drink Starbucks coffee, I prefer to give my business to the small coffee shop owner/operators.

Edited November 11, 201510 yr by Nowisee

Some deranged people have deranged problems

Private company doing whatever it sees fit to do within the law. Shouldn't be any other way. Only socialists would have an issue with that.

Or pagans. Considering the fact that Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus. I never quite understood how some jewish kid apparently born in September if the bible is correct, has his birthday moved to coincide with a pagan festival in December This whole business with Christmas trees, decorations, yule logs, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer just screams out nonsense. It has nothing to do with Christianity, so why get upset over it?

Hmmm ... I guess I have been wrong all these years thinking that Christmas was a religious holiday. I guess it's simply a commercial and political opportunity to be manipulated for profit and/or political gain. If Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists are offended by Christmas then they should take it up with the political and commercial entities that have made Christmas their whore.

some of these christian "religious conservatives" would be as bad as the Taliban if given half the chance.

Trump had no business commenting on this. Everyone says he speaks his mind but now that his numbers are dropping he too, has jumped on the christian bandwagon and is whoring himself out for the religious vote.

I would rather see his casinos boycotted, nothing Christmasy about Dad gambling away all the Xmas gift money and kids education funds.

What a load of ca ca. Anyone with a job that can afford Starbucks should be happy they have employment.

Too many 'special snowflakes' gettin 'offended' these days. PC is waaay outa control. .

ehhh it is the anti-pc brigade that are getting their knickers in a twist about this - nothing worse than the dullards on the anti-pc brigade

In his classic, nonsensical throw-some-red-mear fashion Trump said: "If I become president, we're ALL going to be saying, 'Merry Christmas' again. That I can tell you."

“Uh-huh.

Some funny photo responses to this silly FAKE issue:

http://www.sfgate.com/aboutsfgate/article/MerryChirstmasStarbucks-outrage-slapped-down-by-6622842.php

Edited November 11, 201510 yr by Jingthing

Private company doing whatever it sees fit to do within the law. Shouldn't be any other way. Only socialists would have an issue with that.

Interesting that you read the conservative Christians denouncing Statbucks as Socialists. They would be appalled at your accusation that they are Socialists. Ironic at base as Christ indeed taught of sharing and caring for one another...evidently you are correct Christians, following the teachings, are Socialists.

This is just a storm in a teacup....

Private company doing whatever it sees fit to do within the law. Shouldn't be any other way. Only socialists would have an issue with that.

And yet those who do have a problem with it are far far right of socialism.

If Jesus Christ were alive today you can bet he wouldn't be a Christian.

some of these christian "religious conservatives" would be as bad as the Taliban if given half the chance.

And three of them are running for President, judging by their gleeful attendance at an event hosted by this mental case last weekend.

Step forward Huckabee, Jindal and Cruz.

The image of Hohoho Santa was generated by a Cocacola commercial ( from ancient memory) . Successive enhancement has convinced the world that Christmas ( Xmas ... subtle avoidance of traditional objection) is about expenditure.

Curious that a commercial campaign that uses minimalism is objected to !

Or is it the RED colour has stirred objection?

When thousands of people are thinking of finding their next meal, here people are in a twist on how an over priced (supposed to be) lousy cup of coffee is served!

Are these the joys of development and prosperity?

When thousands of people are thinking of finding their next meal, here people are in a twist on how an over priced (supposed to be) lousy cup of coffee is served!

Are these the joys of development and prosperity?

The magic of franchising ! It is not what it is but where . That is.... if you can afford to subscribe. lol