https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2J8KJDsqqY Starbucks Ad
I'm watching Saturday Night Live right now, and just saw a commercial from Starbucks making the case not only to vote, but for just caring. Oh, and they promised a free cup of coffee if you vote on Tuesday.
More after the show.
Update: The ad is on the front page of Starbuck's right now (it's not embeddable).
Update 2: Found on YouTube (now).
Post show…(next day, after falling asleep after SNL)
I guess I should explain why this ad got me so excited. Essentially, I see this ad as a great experiment in viral marketing for both Starbucks and politics.
Starbucks has positioned themselves as a high-end, green, luxury, hang-out for hipsters and soccer moms both. Voting is such a good topic for them to try to tackle – it affects both groups equally. Giving out a freebie in this poor economy when luxury goods are suffering from their elastic nature is a great idea.
Far more important is the social example. Roughly 64% of the country votes, and that's despicable. If more companies publicly supported politics in general (as in Starbucks), or even took sides (as in many Silicon Valley Companies) perhaps the apathy that my generation feels would be decreased. Corporate sponsorship sounds like a good idea to me :)