Pointless Starbucks ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Coffee Cup Campaign Goes Nationwide

You remember when we reported that coffee conglomerate Starbucks had started writing “Come Together” on cups of joe in the Washington DC area? Since we’re about two days away from the fiscal cliff with no deal in sight, stores across the country will start writing the same message on their cups in an effort to persuade visiting pols to set aside their differences and find an alternative to another recession.

The Starbucks coffee cup campaign is so simple, it’s mundane. DC-area cup warmers included the message “Come Together” in an effort to persuade our stubborn elected officials to reconsider their staunchly partisan perspectives and reach across the aisle in an effort to find compromise in solving the fiscal cliff.

Well, it hasn’t worked. So naturally, the campaign must go national.

A spokesman for the world’s largest coffee chain said that the company will increase its passive-aggressive efforts on a nation-wide scale, and implement the “Come Together” message through next week at all national Starbucks stores.

“Stores from across the country have been asking if they could join in and we have been saying absolutely yes,” Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson told Reuters.

“Based on this unprecedented response, we are inviting all of our partners at US stores to start signing their customers’ cups with Come Together through next Friday,” Olson said.

The effect hasn’t exactly been what Starbucks has expected, but that’s no reason to stop. People are embracing a catchy and common slogan, and somewhere in a wildly insane train of thought, that translates into a political protest (read: profit).

“We believe the (Washington) DC effort caught on so swiftly because they Come Together message is such a simple and respectful gesture that expresses the optimism that is core to our country’s heritage and to Starbucks mission,” Olson said.

“This is an important moment for Starbucks to use its scale for good and give Come Together an even louder voice – as we move from signing tens of thousands of cups in DC to tens of millions of cups across the U.S. over the course of next week.”

We prefer this explanation, via MSN Now:

“It’s clear that Starbucks’ written missives are just the push we needed to get this debt deal done, just as liking a status on Facebook was totally the best way to stop child soldiers in Africa.”

So go buy a cup of coffee from Starbucks, because you’re raising awareness or something.