The world’s most controversial multinational company logo
Starbucks Corporation, the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with more than 15,000 stores in more than 40 countries, 172,000 employees and billion-dollar revenues also has probably the world’s most controversial corporate logo.
The present logo which we all know is:
The original logo when Starbucks first started out in 1971: the Starbucks siren topless and had a fully-visible double fish tail:
You might say bygones be bygones, but in early April 2008, Starbucks recalled the original logo, albeit modified: hair covers the nipples of the siren:
By now Starbucks is now a billion-dollar company, and this kind of logo is surely inviting controversy. A Christian group called it a “naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute” and derided the company as “Slutbucks.”
Starbucks has defended the logo, which is based on a 16th century Norse design of a mermaid with 2-tails. Owner Howard Schultz, who bought over Starbucks in 1982, described the logo in his memoirs as “Rubenesque, it’s supposed to be as seductive as coffee itself.”
Yes, whichever logo it is, I will always love coffee: I should aim to get my own capresso machine.
Do you know of any other MNC with a more raunchy logo?
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i think even when they said that, it wont affect Starbucks..
jk
after all, it is just a logo.
I think a little controversy sells, but too much will backfire. Anyway the company said it’s going to be used “for a few weeks”, not permanently, so we’ll see…
Wow,I never knew Starbucks previous logo was like this….
people tend to think too much and overly interpret something that originally does not carrying intentional negative meaning. another example is the darlie toothpaste. since they are running a big business, have to make everyone happy then.