In a bold move, last week the coffee giant released a new campaign, Starbucks' Race Together, in which baristas in United States venues were invited to start a conversation with clients about race in America - but it's been a marketing disaster all the way through.
Even before the official launch of the Starbucks Race Together campaign, news outlets around the country dissed the idea for being absurd, as it meant a complete stranger in a coffee house trying to get someone to talk about race, which would ultimately be both awkward and ultimately pointless.
Food World News reported the launch of the Starbucks Race Together campaign last week, which started after the company's CEO, Howard Schultz, who released a company video in which he instructed the franchise's baristas to "facilitate a conversation" about race, a move that was considered both bold and ridiculous by many, including basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Now, NPR reports that the Starbucks Race Together campaign is receiving yet another punch, though this time from inside: Schultz has now instructed baristas to stop writing "Race Together" on their patrons' coffee cups, something that had been one of the most visible moves in the entire campaign, involving either writing its name or placing stickers about the campaign.
According to Fox News, Schultz said in the memo that the part about writing the campaign's name was only "the catalyst" to introduce the much more important Starbucks Race Together conversation, amid strong criticism of the entire campaign.
"While there has been criticism of the initiative - and I know this hasn't been easy for any of you - let me assure you that we didn't expect universal praise," said Schultz's memo to the company, according to Fortune's website, as he continued his support for the campaign.
For now, it seems like the rest of the Starbucks Race Together campaign carries on amid controversy, much like McDonald's Pay with Lovin' campaign from earlier this year.
