Now that election results have taken over the news, everyone seems to have moved on from their outrage about the green cups Starbucks had released in the beginning of November. Because November is usually the time of year when Starbucks starts serving their hot beverages in their well-known red cups, this change from the norm really threw some people off.
Friends, baristas, and customers drawn in one continuous line—reminding us we’re all connected. pic.twitter.com/qspqJc8KWB
— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) November 1, 2016
What many didn’t realize, however, was that the green cups covered in drawings of people were meant to bring people together. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz explained, “During a divisive time in our country, Starbucks wanted to create a symbol of unity as a reminder of our shared values, and the need to be good to each other.” Well, rather than bringing people together, the cups only turned people against one another. The internet exploded with people blaming Starbucks for trying to be too politically correct by removing all traces of Christmas, a religious holiday, from their cups. Others were congratulating Starbucks for the same reason.
Starbucks didn’t make much further comment on the issue, other than stressing that there were more holiday plans to come.
@ttwaswift Our holiday plans are still under wraps. Stay tuned!
— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) November 1, 2016
It seemed that many people chose to ignore the lack of confirmation from the coffee company about the cups truly being the holiday cups for the year. But this week, Starbucks has released the true holiday cups, pictured above, showing that they did listen to customers who wanted more of a winter theme on the classic red cups after last years were just plain red. There are a variety of drawings on this year’s cups, so you can get something different every time you study. Hopefully, the fun designs will make caffeine runs during finals a little more fun!