As a Starbucks customer, do you look forward to their holiday designed cup? Does it add a touch of seasonal joy to your morning, having a Christmas themed coffee cup for your commute to work? Has the fact that Starbucks released a stark red cup this year made you question your loyalty to the company? Do you see this as a sign that Starbucks is anti-Christmas? Or do you not care? It is, after all, just a cup.

In previous years, Starbucks has always released a line of Christmas cups emblazoned in traditional holiday imagery from the likes of reindeer to ornate snowflakes. This year, Starbucks decided to change it up a bit and design a cup that welcomed customers to doodle their own holiday designs. From a marketing perspective, the new cups would engage their customers more – a fun way for the customers to interact with their product. We don’t imagine the marketing strategy was to alienate or enrage a chunk of their clientele. When they designed the new cup, we don’t imagine they did so with the belief that it would stir up so much anger and controversy within the media. I mean, it’s just a cup after all…

We’d like to think that people will continue to take pleasure from their morning coffee or tea latte, no matter what the design of the cup is.

What do you think about all the media fuss? We’d love to hear your comments below!