Keep Calm and Celebrate the Holidays

Keep calm; it’s only a cup.  Since 1997, Starbucks has brought the holiday cheer to consumers with festive red cups.  In the past, artists have displayed common winter themes such as snowflakes, snowmen, and Christmas trees.  This winter, the iconic coffee company decided to leave the graphics off and have a festive all red cup with the green and white Starbucks logo in the center.  Little did Starbucks know, they would catch national attention and mass amounts of negative comments from consumers that loved the old holiday cups.

While some people have jumped to conclusion and have made speculations that “Starbucks hates Jesus” or “Starbucks hates Christmas”, Starbucks did not do this because of any religious reasons. People have been overreacting to such a small issue and blowing it out of proportion. Which is rather disheartening considering there are more important issues in the world today.  Starbucks customers should be grateful that they are able to enjoy the luxury of Starbucks coffee, a luxury not known to many worldwide.

Last holiday season, Starbucks created the Red Cup Contest on Pinterest during the first week of November.  This November, the Seattle based coffee company received over 24,000 entries after five days of launching the contest.  The second annual Starbucks Red Cup Contest consisted of customers snapping a creative photo of their festive red holiday cup for a chance to win a Starbucks eGift card.  I encourage readers to check out the Red Cup Contest on Pinterest and see how creative minds across the world express their festive red holiday cup.  Although many have missed out on the Red Cup Contest this year, due to the cloud of hatred towards the new festive red cups, this should not cloud one’s vision for the holiday season that is upon us.

As the annual festive holiday cups took off in a direction Starbucks did not entirely expect it to go, the company stood their ground and sparked creativity with their customers.  Could this be why they left a blank red canvas for their customers this year?  Maybe Starbucks wanted to focus on the customer’s creative mind more than the cup. The holiday season is upon us; I want to express the importance of being grateful to have the gift of life. 
 
Happy Holidays.
Brett Cozzi

---