Starbucks India is facing boycott calls amid accusations of “going full Bud Light” with the recent unveiling of a new commercial featuring supportive parents meeting at one of its locations with their transgender daughter.
Over the past several weeks, Bud Light has been the focus of a divisive debate after sending transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a personalized beer can in early April to commemorate 365 days of being a woman. Mulvaney’s Days of Girlhood video series, which charts her first year of transitioning, has been a viral success.
The partnership drew condemnation from a number of right-leaning social media users, who issued calls for a boycott. There have since been reports of plummeting Bud Light sales.
Starbucks India is now facing a similar backlash due to an ad shared on the company’s Twitter account. The clip showed a mother and father meeting with their adult transgender daughter at a Starbucks store. The father had not seen his daughter since her transition.
While the father was depicted as struggling with his daughter’s transition, he got up to order beverages. The clip ended with the barista announcing that the drink order was ready for “Arpita,” the female equivalent of their child’s pre-transition name, indicating that he was accepting his daughter for who she is.
“For me, you are still my kid. Only a letter has been added to your name,” he said, reaching out to clasp his smiling daughter’s hand.
“Your name defines who you are—whether it’s Arpit or Arpita,” read Starbucks India’s caption. “At Starbucks, we love and accept you for who you are. Because being yourself means everything to us. #ItStartsWithYourName.”
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. #ItStartsWithYourName. ? pic.twitter.com/DKNGhKZ1Hg
— Starbucks India (@StarbucksIndia) May 10, 2023
The video was met with a strong reaction on Twitter.
“Starbucks facing a backlash in India after going full Bud Light,” tweeted Australia-based political commentator Rukshan Fernando. “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.”
Another Twitter user suggested that such a commercial would never have been considered by Starbucks in certain areas of the world.
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. pic.twitter.com/09EU5ZPFwe
— Rukshan Fernando (@therealrukshan) May 14, 2023
12
