Marketing Materials Feature Black-And-White Photographs The Company Declines To Identify, Customers Report Drink Tastes Like A Regular Latte
Reported for Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat.
SEATTLE/NEW YORK – Starbucks launched on Monday a limited-edition seasonal beverage called the Old Manhattan, available through the end of May at approximately 680 locations across the five boroughs. The drink, per the company’s own menu description, contains espresso, vanilla syrup, steamed milk, and “a hint of something vaguely unspecified”. The associated marketing campaign features black-and-white photographs of Manhattan street scenes from, per the copy, “a bygone era”, which the company declined to specifically identify.
The Unspecified Hint
Asked by the reporter to clarify what “something vaguely unspecified” meant, a Starbucks spokesperson said, after consulting with marketing, that the hint was “a proprietary flavour note intended to evoke a particular mood” and that the company would not be disclosing further details. A barista at a Union Square location, speaking on condition of anonymity, said she believed the hint was “a small amount of orange syrup, but I’m not sure we’re supposed to say”. A second barista, at a different location, said she believed it was “the regular vanilla, just called something else”. A third, in Midtown, declined to speculate.
Customer Reception, Mixed
Eleven customers interviewed outside various Manhattan locations described the Old Manhattan, in order of frequency, as: “fine”, “tastes like a latte”, “tastes like a vanilla latte”, “did they put orange in this”, “I do not know what this is meant to be”, and, from one customer who had purchased the drink twice, “I genuinely cannot tell what is different”. The customer was, she said, going back for a third because “it might be me”.
The Marketing
The campaign’s black-and-white photographs, which appear in stores and on shopping bags, depict, variously, a brownstone stoop, a subway entrance, and a man in a fedora reading a newspaper. The photographs are not dated. The company’s spokesperson, asked whether the photographs were original or licensed stock imagery, said they were “from our archives”. Asked which archives, she said she would need to check. She did not call back.
A Parallel Noted
The use of vague historical imagery in corporate branding is a recognised marketing strategy, documented in detail by Marketing Week. The London Prat’s Cereal Killer piece identified a similar dynamic in London, in which the act of opening cereal is now delivered as an experience rather than a transaction.
The Drink’s Future
The Old Manhattan will remain on the menu through 31 May. A successor drink, the Brooklyn Bridge Blend, is reportedly scheduled for June. Its ingredients are, per the spokesperson, “in development”.
More: NewsThump. SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/