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May 18th, 2010 
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Image taken on 2005-12-06 22:50:37 by Thomas Hawk.
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And the guy probably has to use his own car and gas just like food delivery people.
viral marketing. that’s pretty smart. i love that the guy looks like he is getting a kick out of the whole thing.
and he looks like rick james.
Brillant!
How do you *see* this stuff??
Funny! When I was 4 years old, we were driving from the trailer park to the laundromat and people were pointing at us and trying to say something but my dad just told us to roll up the windows. When we got to the laundromat there was no laundry basket. My brother had left it on top of the car and somewhere along the mud road it fell off but not until half our undies were strewn all along the road.
I think this is a BRILLIANT marketing idea and until today I never before wished I owned a laundromat. Your skill at being able to get this photo demonstrates your amazing talent.
Well, that’s really low-key marketing, and just what you might expect from Starbucks (at least in SF). Now I’ll have to see if they do that in DC, where Starbucks has a HUGE presence. (It’s a Type-A kind of town.) Traffic is so clogged here that they’ll probably use pedestrians with Vente Lattes attached to their heads.
that’s hilarious.
anyone have any crazy glue? i’ve got a cup to be affixing to the top of my go-kart.
that’s pretty clever. nice shot too.
But only if the person driving has the personality that you want to do him/her a favor. I’ve seen some drivers that I would go up and knock the cup over, just to piss them off even more!
If you didn’t take the time to do the driver a favor, would it really make an impact on you?
I mean, I like the idea, but would you tell someone you saw a guy with a cup of coffee on his car roof? Or would you mention the brand?
Just read about this on adrants.com – too funny, but also – SO CREATIVE!!
wouldn’t this actually conflict with starbucks branding?
not a real sbux advertisement. inspiration probably came from the <a follow that red cup campaign.
this is kinda insidious, isn’t it? sbux preys on your desire to help someone out and you get had?
0401 is onto something. this seems off-brand to me too.
but everyoen else loves it, so it’s just more evidence that i am no marketing genius.
0401: thanks for the link
I prefer Peets anyway, no matter what Starsucks comes up with. So even though I admire the campaign, if that’s what’s happening, I intensely dislike the product.
hate sbucks
Wow. That’s pretty amazing. I wonder exactly WHAT you are supposed to think when you see that? Is this guy just supposed to drive around, smile and wave and say "Happy Holidays from Starbucks"? Eeesh.
Agree with JRWebb – Peets is better.
Even better is that you took a photo and started a lovely viral thread on it. I fancy a coffee…
i doubt they’re actually "out to get" anyone. from what i’ve heard they actually give you a reward when you tell them they forgot their starbucks. i’m sure they’re bombarded all day long – sounds pretty interesting to me!
One can hope that this kind of marketing "only happens once a year," much like the iconic red cups.
wow. thats pretty funny. Getting that cup off your roof would be a real pain in the butt, though.
look. A lot of you people have noted that this so-called "insidious" advertisment is [insert random comment from above here]. All it is is a clever little ad campaign thats designed to make you laugh. Thats all. No evil "conspiracies".
That’s funny cause I saw a baby carrier on top of someone’s car, and when I ran up to the window, they handed my a National Right to Life Committee pamphlet. Bastards.
i dont think they could pay me enough to put up with people telling me ‘there’s a coffee on your roof’ all day long … well, then again, its starbucks, maybe they could
Oh, you fooled me. How else will you defraud me? Gosh I want to buy your product. Screw Starbucks.
Fascinating comment thread. A quirky (and not very important) marketing idea becomes a megolithic corporate conspiracy to dominate the world. Proof that nothing breeds resentment like success — which means that Thomas, as one of Flickr’s most successful photographers — should be anticipating barbs at any minute.
Here’s the bottom line:
- Cute marketing idea,
- The photo worked because Thomas and the driver interacted.
- Peets IS better, but that helps only if you live in the Bay Area. We have Peets flown in for home, but it’s Starbucks or Caribou if you want an espresso in this area.
i think the character’s attitude deinitely helps. I love it when Thomas said that guy seems to be getting a kick out of doing this.
Would you be more or less inclined to buy coffee from starbucks because of this? it doesn’t matter. Starbucks suddenly appear more friendly as a brand
Classic.
I think people are reading into this too much and missing the point, which really seems to be more about simplicity and connecting with people over a joke and good nature. Would you prefer to be stopped on the street by someone trying to get you to taste some Starbucks and fill out a survey or answer a question, or would you rather experience something different and unexpected that you actually remember and want to talk about (plus get some free Starbucks while you’re at it)? This obviously got everyone here talking…
I saw this in NYC two days ago: a car pulled up to a stoplight, an elderly gentleman in a cashmere coat signaled "excuse me, but you…", and the driver flashed a big smile and handed the fellow a coupon through the window. A homeless guy on the corner saw the coupon being handed out and dashed up to claim another coupon. The gentleman, somewhat bemused, smiled politely as the car drove away, then grimaced, folded the coupon, and dropped it into the trash (whereupon the homeless guy nabbed it.)
Net result: one affluent customer made to feel foolish, $5.00 of Starbucks product given away to a (probably) non-customer. I agree with others that this is certainly not a Big Deal, but it seems to me that Starbucks and the guy in the car think one thing ("ha ha, they love us, they’ll tell their friends!") and the prospect thinks another ("that was unpleasant and embarassing.")
I thought it was great. I just want to know why everyone else got coupons for free Starbucks and I didn’t!
Come to think of it, I’m not sure they were coupons. They might have just been invitations to visit theredcup.com. In which case the brand touch probably would have been a dissatisfier for the homeless guy as well.
Just to make all you guys questions answered. I worked for that gig and we where giving out $5 gift cert. Most people thought it was funny and some didn’t like it at all! Im not a big fan of Starbucks myself just because it part of the company cow so i didn’t blame them. But I worked for another company that does that kind of promoting and Starbucks was there client. now we are gettin screwed for our Pay Checks! Not going to get into it but be aware for Free Car Media they will screw you over!
Not so original. I made this film in 2003.
wwwhost.rbn.com/rninfo/rninfo/web/dude_300.mov
Enjoy!
Funny.
If you really want to see the genius of this marketing strategy just look at how many people have posted here.
too funny
Aurora: 10 months later, this photo has 13,284 views. Perhaps it didn’t get any new customers, but the brand has certainly been mentioned, and people have certainly been told.
(Seen on page 3 of interestingness for 2005-12-06, where I have an entry, too… was just checking out what else was interesting for that day.)
And I am reading all this 23 months later, so it is still having an effect.
However I won’t go out of my way for Starbucks, only is it is the only choice. I’ll go to 7/11 any day over Starbucks! Only 99¢ with your own cup!
I’m not really a fan of this kind of a marketing strategy. There are already too many cars on the road polluting the environment.
But nice shot, Thomas
Samreen Soomro – SEO Expert
Haha! This is Awesome! Great marketing!!!
But Starbucks still overprices their coffee.
this is costly i cant buy