Starbucks India has faced massive backlash from the advertisement. Political commentator, Rukshan Fernando tweeted, “Starbucks facing a backlash in India after going full Bud Light. If saturating the market with a mediocre US coffee brand wasn’t bad enough, now they are bringing their woke corporate culture to the Sub-Continent.”
One user tweeted in Starbucks India’s comment section, “It is deeply disconcerting to witness the rapid erosion of cultural identity in our current era. Certain liberal forces persistently normalize practices that appear to undermine the very fabric of our cherished traditions and deeply held values. The pace at which this unsettling phenomenon unfolds is cause for genuine alarm. It is NOT a coincidence. It is a deliberate strategy.”
Another user weighed in, “I am a huge starbucks fan Virtually spend thousands of rupees in their coffee shop every year But still i can’t believe why @StarbucksIndia would launch a woke campaign in the name of advertisement? Can’t they just market their coffee and service to India Their service is the best in the world Who designs such campaigns to guilt trip people which don’t appeal/apply to even 0.1 % Indians Perhaps I should my allegiance to Thirdwave coffee which has better coffee and equally good service and interiors like #Starbucks.“
Another person commented, “What are you promoting @Starbucks…Don’t promote such culture…we don’t want any lessons on the acceptance of such immoral values…we are Bharatvasis & we are very proud of our civilization all culture..we aren’t some #BollywoodVultures to Promote such culture Abstain fm such Ads #KaranJohar.”
“I don’t understand why brands do this… these ads alienate huge portions of the population. Whatever happened to common sense advertising? Videos like this alienate more customers than they bring in. Literally throwing advertising dollars in the trash just to virtue signal,” a disgruntled person tweeted.
Watch the ad that infuriated them here: