Backlash on Starbucks over transgender acceptance: 'Boycott Starbucks' trends
Popular beverage brand Starbucks is facing backlash on its latest advertisement. The advertisement which talks about the rights of the transgender community is being widely shared and talked about across social media. The ad which was a part of Starbucks' new campaign 'It Starts With Your Name'- was slammed by the netizens. Here is more about the controversy.
What is in the ad?
The ad features a transgender woman, Arpit (who now identifies as 'Arpita') meeting her parents at a Starbucks outlet after several years. The ad shows the father struggling to come to terms with his decision of assuming a woman's identity. Arpita looks pleasantly surprised when the barista says, "Three cold coffees for Arpita." It was at this moment the father accepted her transition.
Check out the video here
'Your name defines who you are'
Starbucks tweeted this ad with the caption, "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." The ad went viral in a span of just 48 hours, garnering over 2.5 million tweet views and 530K views.
Multiple viewpoints are reflected in the comment section
The ad was tweeted by Starbucks on May 10 and soon got flooded with numerous comments by Twitterati. Some commented on how the ad is promoting a good cause in terms of gender inclusivity. While another section of people questioned the need for introducing such campaigns. In two days, the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks too started to trend on Twitter in India.
A user praises the ad calling it 'bold'
Netizens categorized the ad as 'woke'
Netizens believe the Starbucks ad to be too woke for its own good. Some internet users find it unnecessary for a brand like Starbucks to preach morality for the sake of it. Many boycott campaigns have surfaced in the past targeting several brands like Tanishq, Surf Excel, Orra Jewellery, and FabIndia owing to their ad campaigns, which mostly had some social message.
