Thoughts
Starbucks Television Ads Campaign
By Nathan Johnson
Starbucks doesn’t do television commercials all that often. The caffeine-dealing behemoth knows it has people hooked already, so it doesn’t spend a lot of time trying to lure them in with flashy advertising. As such, when Starbucks does advertise on television, it’s just a rare-enough occurrence that you might notice.
The company is currently running a “Pass the Cheer” campaign loosely influenced by the giving spirit of the holidays. In each of the three cute cartoon spots (which you can watch here) humans and animals share a moment and some Starbucks beverages – with humans giving the Starbucks drinks to the animals or vice versa. The whole affair is soundtracked by a pleasant-enough tune that evokes generic holiday nostalgia.
So, down to brass tacks – do the ads work? The answer, of course, depends on what exactly they’re supposed to accomplish. And that’s the real question here, the one you’ll ask yourself after you finish saying, “awwww” to cute bears, deer and penguins.
What’s the point?
Ostensibly, the television spots are designed to prompt you, the viewer, to buy more Starbucks and, in this case, “pass the cheer” on to others. Starbucks likely sells a lot of gift cards, bags of coffee and other coffee accoutrements around this time of year, but the company was going to do that anyway and has done so for several years without the use of TV commercials to hawk those wares.
Also, with any advertising, a company should support its brand. The Starbucks ads are confusing on that front. The use of cartoon animals in the commercials suggests a sweet, cute image, but the company doesn’t have a sweet, cute brand. People don’t go into a Starbucks looking for sweet or cute. They go in looking for a fix that has more caché than copping down at the local 7-11 or Dunkin’ Donuts.
Being in a Starbucks store is pleasant enough – so the song is on brand, and Starbucks earns a few points for not stooping low enough to use a cartoon Santa as a shill, but, ultimately, these spots miss the mark by trying to make Starbucks into something it’s not.
It probably doesn’t matter if Starbucks advertises, though. When your caffeine buzz begins to ebb and it’s too cold outside to drink another Diet Coke, Starbucks knows you’ll head down to the corner to score what you need to have a happy holiday. (Note: if there’s not a Starbucks on your corner, just head one or two more blocks in any direction)
E-mail the author: Nathan Johnson