Starbucks wrote 'Race Together' on cups — the campaign was dead in a week

In March 2015, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz launched a campaign called 'Race Together'. The idea was simple: Starbucks baristas would write 'Race Together' on customers' cups to spark conversations about racial issues in America. The campaign was rolled out across 12,000 US stores on a single day, 18 March 2015, timed to coincide with Schultz's speech at the company's annual shareholder meeting.

The reaction was almost universally negative. Customers and critics accused Starbucks of exploiting a serious social issue for corporate branding. Baristas reported being uncomfortable and unprepared for the conversations they were expected to start. The campaign was mocked on social media, derided in the press, and called 'tone-deaf' and 'cringeworthy' by commentators. A parody Twitter account @RaceTogether appeared and amassed tens of thousands of followers within days.

On 22 March 2015 — just four days after the launch — Starbucks announced it was ending the campaign. The company said it had 'accomplished its goal' of sparking conversation, but the abrupt end told a different story. The Race Together stickers were removed from stores, and baristas were no longer asked to write on cups. The campaign had lasted less than a week.

The financial cost was small — the campaign was not a major advertising spend — but the reputational damage was significant. Schultz, who had positioned himself as a socially conscious CEO, was seen as out of touch. The campaign became a textbook case of a brand trying to insert itself into a complex social issue without the credibility or the infrastructure to do it well.