Tata Starbucks recently released ad, which highlighted the issue of gender acceptance in India, has been getting trolled heavily on the internet.
The film broached the topic of Indian families coming around to accept transgender identities. The timing is crucial since the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage is still pending with the Supreme Court and debates about the same have been raging all over the country.
The film opens with a couple sitting at a Starbucks outlet. The man places a call to “Arpit” that goes unanswered. His wife urges him to keep the peace this time as we see a woman walk into the outlet dressed in red.
The three exchange awkward hugs and greetings. It’s revealed that the woman in red is the couple’s daughter and they haven’t spoken in a while. Tensions seem to be simmering as the woman addresses her dad: “Thank you Papa for meeting me. I know bade hi saal beet gaye. Lekin aap aj bhi mere liye sab kuch ho.” (I know it’s been years since we last met, but even today, you mean everything to me.)
After acknowledging his daughter’s words, the father places an order for coffee for the three of them. As they start conversing, the Starbucks barista calls out: “Three coffees for Arpita!”
The story comes a full circle at this point with the father acknowledging his child’s new identity as a transwoman and addressing her by her name. The ad also ties up beautifully with Starbucks practice of calling out customers’ names to notify them that the order is ready.
While a lot of praise has definitely come Starbucks’ way for a well-executed ad with the courage to broach a sensitive albeit lesser-known topic, brickbats have been raining on the brand since its release. Most of the criticisms are against what is perceived to be Starbucks’ “woke” stance. Many have also been asking the brand to “stop getting inspired by the US,” where debates on gender identity have been dominating the culture wars.
The brand film and communication aim to further the company’s positioning as being people first and creating cherished interpersonal interactions and bringing alive how each experience is inclusive and feels like a homecoming. However, the brand didn't anticipate the backlash that would follow. The TVC has garnered 1.9M views on Twitter.
The incident is reminiscent of many brands in the US who have been thrashed for "going woke." The recent one in public memory is the Bud Light controversy with transwoman Dylan Mulvaney. The beer brand's Instagram collab with the trans activist has caused the fall of parent company Anheuser-Busch's stocks. Its VP of Marketing who commissioned the campaign has been put on leave and the top execs have gone into a huddle to prevent further backlash.
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