'Boycott Starbucks' trends as new ad on inclusivity sparks debate among netizens

Popular coffee brand Starbucks released a new advertisement on May 10 focussing on transgender rights that didn't go well among netizens. 'It Starts With Your Name' was the tagline or hashtag of the new marketing campaign by Starbucks India.

In the video clip, they showed a parent duo sitting at a Starbucks outlet. They were waiting for their son 'Arpit' at the coffee shop, and it seemed that the father was having trouble accepting his decision to transition into a female identity, 'Arpita'.

The tension in the interaction is quite apparent when the mother cautions him not to get angry this time. However, it seems that over time, the father came to terms with the transition and in fact, indicated his acceptance by ordering coffee for them.

"Your name defines who you are - whether it's Arpit or Arpita. At Starbucks, we love and accept you for who you are. Because being yourself means everything to us," read the tweet by the official handle.

WATCH- the full ad by Starbucks below:

The marketing campaign by Starbucks went viral in a span of just 48 hours, garnering over 2.5 million tweet views and 530k video views. The advertisement focussed on transgender rights and inclusivity sparked a debate on social media.

Some felt that it was breaking the mould and championing a good cause. "Good to see some effort for gender inclusivity in India," said one Twitter user.

Others felt that this kind of subject needed to be dealt with in a sensitive manner, and the campaign was not necessary in the first place. "Why was this advertisement necessary you were already doing good in India," said one user.

The hashtag 'Boycott Starbucks' too began to trend on Twitter in India on May 12.

Published on: Friday, May 12, 2023, 02:03 PM IST