Is the Starbucks 9/11 Poster Controversy Valid? An Analysis by Snopes

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the controversy surrounding a Starbucks promotional poster that some customers felt resembled the September 11 terrorist attacks. Participants explore the implications of symbolism in advertising and the appropriateness of the complaints regarding the poster.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants argue that the complaints about the poster are an example of "digging" for symbolism and are unfair.
  • Others suggest that the imagery could provoke negative associations, leading to the decision to recall the ad.
  • A participant questions the notion of advertisers using subliminal symbolism, suggesting that the connection to 9/11 is tenuous at best.
  • Several participants express disbelief that anyone would see a connection to 9/11 without prior knowledge of the complaints.
  • One participant notes the phrase "Collapse Into Cool" in the poster as potentially problematic, while others dismiss the complaints as trivial.
  • Some humorously exaggerate the implications of the poster, suggesting that everyday objects could also be misinterpreted.
  • There is a question raised about the authenticity of the ad, which is confirmed by others in the thread.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally disagree on the validity of the complaints regarding the poster. While some find the concerns overblown, others acknowledge the potential for misinterpretation, leading to a lack of consensus on the issue.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying degrees of imagination and interpretation regarding the poster, indicating that perceptions may depend on individual perspectives and experiences. There is also a mention of the timing of the ad's approval in relation to the 9/11 events, which remains unresolved.

Gza
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I was on snopes and came across this article:

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/cool.htm


Starbucks recalled a promotional poster because some customers complained it was too reminiscent of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

This seems to me to be "digging" for symbolism, and unfair in general. I was just wondering what everyone else thought.
 
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I think that any representation that includes two long rectangles standing vertically, in close proximity to a suspended, long cylinder with a flat cross member, should be banned forever! :biggrin:

Edit: Of course, if the imagery provokes thoughts of 911 then it probably wouldn't create a positive feeling about the advertised product. In that light I can see why they pulled the ad.
 
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I should have thought the symbolism was obvious, if not outrageous. But its use does call into question the notion of advertisers using subtle (or subliminal) symbolism to promote products, as the symbolism here would certainly backfire, unless the posters were intended to promote sales in the Afghan mountains.
 
Gza said:
This seems to me to be "digging" for symbolism, and unfair in general. I was just wondering what everyone else thought.
Two cups of slushies sitting in the grass surrounded by butterflies. Yep, first thing I thought of was 9/11. Obviously the butterflies represent the airplanes! (I'm joking). Anyone seeing the World Trade Towers in this poster has a problem.
 
Thank you Evo. I'm glad at least some people can be sensible about this sort of thing. You can assign a meaning to anything (cfr. the succes of psychoanalysis). This doesn't mean you should.
 
Evo said:
Anyone seeing the World Trade Towers in this poster has a problem.

Really? What kind of problem?
 
the number 42 said:
Really? What kind of problem?
They're way too imaginative. I'm not talking about someone being told it represents 9/11 and them thinking, well there are two main items in the picture. I'm talking about someone seeing it without hearing about this. I showed this to several people and even prodded them asking if it reminds them of any particular event. No one made the connection.

It doesn't even make any sense. Why would a coffee shop think that making fun of the World Trade Towers event make people want to drink one of their new fruit drinks? The answer is, this had nothing to do with that event.

So, a poster of two children standing together mocks 9/11? A picture of two trees side by side? Two cups of fruit drinks?

Honestly, if you had seen that poster without knowing what some people thought they were seeing, would you have made any connection?
 
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Evo said:
Honestly, if you had seen that poster without knowing what some people thought they were seeing, would you have made any connection?

Impossible to say, but I do have a good imagination.

I agree that any reference to the 9/11 tragedy must have been unintentional on the basis that Starbucks is a US business. Perhaps the ad was okayed before 9/11? Otherwise I am amazed that the advertising bods didn't see this complaint coming. After all, I have been led to believe that they use subtle symbolism in advertising as a matter of routine, something like an inkblot where most people will see pretty much the same thing there e.g a butterfly, although we all know its just an inkblot. The only reason that I can see that people wouldn't read more into the Starbucks poster is that its just too painful to acknowledge. In fact I feel like apologising for talking about it in what seems like a trivialising context. In fact I'd rather not discuss it further myself, out of respect.
 
Gza said:
This seems to me to be "digging" for symbolism, and unfair in general. I was just wondering what everyone else thought.
There is no reference to 9/11 inherent in that poster. If someone had presented it to me saying they wanted it to allude to 9/11 I would have said they failed. It takes too much of a cerebral stretch to make any such connection: you have to intellectually abstract the elements to make any such connection work, and precious few people react to visual images that way.
 
  • #10
Notice that at the top of the poster it says "Collapse Into Cool." That kind of struck me as odd. But still its rediculous someone would complain about something so stupid.
 
  • #11
Or they could have said "Attack your thirst" it's just using marketing buzz words. I guess if they had one more flavor to advertise it wouldn't have been an issue? :wink:

I just think there are too many people with too much time on their hands looking for problems where there aren't any.
 
  • #12
Uh oh. I just noticed I have a tall plastic cup and a tall container of powdered coffee creamer sitting near each other on my side table here. What should I do?
 
  • #13
zoobyshoe said:
Uh oh. I just noticed I have a tall plastic cup and a tall container of powdered coffee creamer sitting near each other on my side table here. What should I do?
:surprise: Gadzooks man! What are you thinking? Quick, grab one of the containers and move it to another room, otherwise someone will report you for being insensitive!

This has really gotten me to thinking. How many restaurants have you been to that had salt & pepper shakers standing next to each other on a table? How dare they? Don't they know what that means??
 
  • #14
Anyone sure this is actually a real Ad?
 
  • #15
Yes, I checked and it's real.
 
  • #16
Anyone sure this is actually a real Ad?

Snopes is a site meant to separate facts from fictional rumors. And plus, if Evo says it's real, your darn skippy it has to be real. :biggrin:
 

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