Holiday red cup controversy

The annual reveal of Starbucks’ Christmas ‘red cup’ is stirring up some controversy. The annual cup has featured several winter-themed designs since it first appeared in 1997. This year’s holiday cup design is an ombre from bright red to dark cranberry.

While some Twitter users praise the minimalist design, others think the cups are a ‘war on Christmas.’ Starbucks maintains that their holiday cups are meant to be a blank canvas for customers to create their own stories, inspired by the doodles and designs that customers have drawn on their white cups for years.

In the past, we have told stories with our holiday cups designs. This year we wanted to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories.