An Open Letter to Starbucks: Your First Commercial

Starbucks is about to advertise on tv for the first time in its history. That’s kind of stunning considering they went public as a company over 15 years ago. That’s how good the word of mouth and other free advertising has been for them (movies, books etc.)

But now that Starbucks is about to enter into the world of advertising, I would like to throw my two cents in as to what they should be putting into the commercials. I’m no professional, but I ama Starbucks consumer.

My “Expert” Advice

Starbucks is all about community. Make me all warm and fuzzy. Many people have married people they have met in Starbucks: some met on a blind date, some met just by typing on their laptops at a corner table by the window, some met by sipping a drink in one of the lounge chairs and engaging in conversation, some met by studying with a college classmate. The stories are endless.

Hold a contest for people to tell you how they met the person of their dreams at Starbucks. I remember a few years ago, in the Vows section of the New York Times (the section that talks about how couples meet) there was a story of a woman in Manhattan who had gone to a local Starbucks in her neighborhood to write out some holiday Thank You cards. While sitting at a table writing out the cards, a man sat down at a table nearby and they struck up a conversation. They had a lot in common and ended up talking for hours. They, of course, later got married.

Aw….

Why are you different than Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks? Because people meet the love of their lives in your stores.

Work Stories Are Warm and Fuzzy Too

Or what about the people who are legitimately working at a Starbucks everyday? And I’m not talking about the Starbucks employees. There are people who are blogging and making a living doing it. Didn’t Perez Hilton, one of the celebrity bloggers, blog at a Starbucks in Hollywood for months before hitting the big time? (or maybe that was another coffee shop.) Perhaps he would want some payment to appear in an ad. But others wouldn’t.

There are many success stories. People who have gotten a dream job because of an interview at Starbucks. People who have written best selling novels while sitting at Starbucks.

They’re not doing any of those things at the local McDonalds.

Yes, it’s about the coffee. But it’s also about the feeling I get when I think of Starbucks. I want to feel connected to my community. Coffee, working on my laptop, meeting the love of my life. Those are the Starbucks experiences.

That’s what I want to see in the first Starbucks commercial.

But that’s just me.

Starbucks, are you listening???