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So, about that
new Starbucks logo that was unveiled yesterday? According to the blog
AndFarAway, putting the full-frontal nudity of the siren front-and-center is far too racy for some countries in the Middle East, namely Saudi Arabia, where the siren has not appeared on the logo for over a decade.
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In 1992, the blog reports, the siren was deemed "morally-inappropriate" for the country's predominantly Muslim clientele. The official Starbucks logo was changed on signage throughout Saudi Arabia to feature the siren's crown floating on a sea ... of coffee? (You can read more about the change in the piece "
The Saudi Sellout" by Colbert King.) While AndFarAway envisions an amusing solution for the new logo, this conundrum presents a very real problem for Starbucks.
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This photo, taken a few months ago, shows the crown logo in a store in Mecca (wow, there really are Starbucks everywhere), and the sultry siren is nowhere in sight. You can see the inherent issue: What was inside the circle was downplayed when it was surrounded by huge STARBUCKS COFFEE type, but now that it's all about the siren, her bare-chested beauty is kinda in your face. Okay, so it's possible that Starbucks will create a version of the crown afloat on the coffee sea, but what's the point exactly of making a globally-recognized iconic symbol that can't be used in all parts of the globe?
Store photo by Osama Allassiry
via Brainpicker
