#BoycottStarbucks: Starbucks India gets backlash over its new LGBTQIA+ ad
Starbucks is one of the most popular coffee brands across the globe. The American multinational chain of coffeehouses is hogging headlines after Starbucks India launched its new campaign, It Starts With Your Name, with an advertisement on LGBTQIA+.
The two-minute-long advertisement tells a story of a father who is not happy with her son’s decision to transition into a woman. The ad starts with the parents sitting at a Starbucks outlet and waiting for their now-daughter Arpita.
The father had her name saved as Arpit and not Arpita while the mother asks him not to be mad at their daughter like the previous time. It seemed the father had trouble accepting his son with his female identity. However, the ad shows the father had moved on from his stubbornness and accepted gender fluidity. As his daughter arrives, he orders three cold coffees by her name Arpita and not Arpit.
Watch the viral video here:
Sharing the ad, Starbucks India wrote ‘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.’
Why #BoycottStarbucks is trending?
The ad has left the internet divided. While a section of social media is furious at Starbucks for touching such a sensitive matter in India, others appreciated their move to spread awareness among people. Moreover, the ad has led to a new trend on Twitter #BoycottStarbucks wherein users are bashing the coffee brand.
One user wrote Starbucks seems less like a coffee company and more like an arm of the American geopolitical empire that uses its brand image to propagate toxic ideas about identity and culture.
Another user wrote lashed at the brand for promoting the American agenda in India.
Check out Twitter reactions here:
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