Starbucks goes Nakie...

If you read my blog, you know that I have indicated that Howard Schultz will make a difference at Starbucks again. I don't believe he can get the product quality back to what it was 10, 15, 20 years ago. But, I think he will be effective in making the Starbucks experience better than what it has been. His biggest strategy so far is to try to revert to policies that were in place before they began their "McDonald's of Coffee" degradation in quality and customer service. Today it was announced that Starbucks is reverting back to a similar version of the original logo. This is the first change he has made that has shocked me. Here are the original logo, the familiar green and white logo from the last 10-12 years, and the newest logo that is now their standard:







The latest version is not quite as bare-breasted as the original, but it is out of bounds in today's corporate culture view. It is a logo you might expect from a small, indie start-up, like Starbucks was in Seattle 30 years ago. It is absolutely not the logo you would want to walk into a corporate conference room with. We go to a church with a fellowship of thousands. Our pastor is a huge Starbucks fan. Did I say huge? I actually meant HUGE! I really can't imagine Eric walking into church with a coffee cup with a jazzed up mermaid (and not referring to caffeine).
Having worked as a project manager in corporate America for the last 10-15 years, this logo will go over like a brick in today's corporate anti-sexual-harassment culture. There are going to be a bunch of college kids and fringe cultural sects that will think it is the coolest thing ever. But, I would expect to see a huge backlash in coming days or weeks over this. What soccer mom wants to look at naked women on their coffee?

So, my question... Is this a legitimate logo change, an attempt to get back to original company roots? Or, is it a flamboyant and temporary change to get mountains of free press? Everyone who buys coffee on a regular basis is going to take note of this and will be discussing it.

Either way, I don't think this is going to last. If it is an engineered strategy to get everyone to talk about Starbucks, it will be over in a month or so. If it is a sincere change, I believe the resulting cultural clash will result in Starbucks ditching it. Either way, it will end in the same manner, and anyone with a pulse will know about it...

If you don't like illustrated boosoms with your coffee, then come by Nemo's and we'll hook you up with a really cool turtle!