According to the Star Tribune, Starbucks recently decided to resurrect its original bare-breasted mermaid logo, much to the dismay of the Christian group, “The Resistance,” who is calling for a national boycott. The logo, based on a 16th Century Norse woodcut, will be on Starbucks cups for at least a few more weeks and will be the permanent logo for Pike Place bags of coffee. According to the Christian group, the logo “has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute,” and that “the company might as well call themselves Slutbucks.” We didn’t even know that mermaids had legs. More, inside…
The article says,
The image is a less-revealing version of what the chain used for many years, starting when it first opened in Seattle in 1971. That original logo was resurrected in its Northwest outlets for a time in 2006 to mark the chain’s 35th anniversary.
Company spokeswoman, Bridget Baker said the newly revived logo was “modified a bit [from the original] based on feedback” from Starbucks customers during its 2006 appearance. “We feel it’s appropriate,” she said. Howard Shultz, Starbucks’ founder, said in his book, “That early siren, bare-breasted and Rubenesque, was supposed to be seductive as coffee itself.”
We seriously doubt this logo is obscene enough to deter anyone from their morning cup. From what we know of coffee drinkers, still photos from German scheissen porn wouldn’t separate them from their hot liquid crack.
Group finds Starbucks logo too hot to handle [Star Tribune]
(Photo: Star Tribune)
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@Chadarius: Yes, the Bible itself is much more open about sex and the human body than a lot of contemporary Christians (or at least Christians in the mold of “The Resistance”). You’d almost think they hadn’t actually read it carefully. The fear of sex and nudity started much later. Personally, I think it’s more sick and perverted to treat it as a dirty, shameful thing than to acknowledge it and be open about it.
Seriously?
As I drank my morning crack, I was thinking the mermaid lady looked sexy with those few extra pounds. Hadn’t she always been topless?
@Bladefist: “What else do you call it?”
A generalized lack of compassion and understanding. It’s just too easy to say, “Well, they think differently than I do, so they’re stupid/wrong/evil.” It’s the easiest kind of intellectual laziness, and one of the most pernicious kinds. I feel strongly on certain topics, but I at least attempt to understand why people feel differently than I do. People ALWAYS have a reason. Sometimes an incredibly stupid reason, but it’s still a reason. A little understanding of those reasons and a little compassion for the people involved goes a long, long way.
(You’d love what I do to my students to make them learn this lesson.
)
amazing how christians freak out over the human body.
Are people really still this uncomfortable with the human form in it’s natural state? And why is it that the “Christians” are the ones who always seem to be thinking about sex–deviant, disgusting, sinful sex…
@ironchef: They’re one step below Islam in the human body freakout factor, but yes.
Sweet babbling buddha. I’m a bone deep Christian since 8 years old, and this is the sort of stupid buttinsky nonsense that gives the rest of us a bad rep. Well, that and the Big Haired people on the Christian Mafia Channel, I mean … TBN. Well, and televagelists begging for money. And Rome. And …. never, mind.
@MayorBee: It is bad enough the original is still burned into my retina, but now I have that picture in my head!
@Eyebrows McGee: Well then that makes you one of the most intelligent people here. I know a couple people here who could learn from that.
As a Christian, I’d just like to say that not all of us are like this. These are fundamentalists, who take things way too far. A lot of us are sane, so please don’t see this example and take it to mean that ALL Christians are like this.
Someone told me that it’s not a mermaid, it’s actually a two-tailed siren.
That might explain why Starbucks is so popular.
OH NOES BOOBIES ON MY COFFEE
@Bladefist: No, it isn’t, and that’s a simplistic and specious argument often employed by those with faith to attempt to expose hypocrisy in those without. An antipathy toward religion, and/or toward the practitioners thereof, does not require the willful suppression of rational thought, the acceptance of the the existence of phenomena without any empirical substantiation, etc. It’s not faith, it’s simply an attitude. A distasteful attitude, perhaps, but not a religion.
@Jabberkaty: The problem will never be solved until we have boobs on our boobs.
Breasts are awesome. All women have them. I guess I fail to see where the sin is?
I’m a Christian, this isn’t offensive… That sure doesn’t make it any less CREEPY!
I thought the new, now old, logo was better anyways.
Is this some kind of… Sex appeal or something? Starbucks isn’t making enough money they have to invent things like this to sell more? I don’t get it.
…Ahh I get that joke in Idiocracy now… Wow, didn’t know Mike Judge took this so LITERAL!
Looks like she is spreading her legs… in an uncomfortable way but still spreading them… for… ???
@agraham999: Wow. Until I read your blog (excellent post, btw), it passed my attention that these neanderthals didn’t recognize her being a mermaid. How can you not recognize a mermaid?!
I get the feeling these are the same sorts that think Harry Potter is devil worship. As was CS Lewis things, until Big Daddy told them it was a Christian allegory. Err, once someone defined “allegory” to them.
They really are strange, isolated, broken people. With sex-for-hire on the brain, obviously. Hmmmmmm…
Disclaimer: I have a lot of friends that I respect immensely that follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, who was a pretty swell guy when you listen to his words. Shame some Christians don’t listen as carefully.
@Bladefist: No, Bible Thumpers are the ones that loudly and whiningly judge you.
@dago_31: Well they know how their dirty molesting priests do!
Disclaimer: I am a Christian but will never forgive the atrocities of Catholic Priests.
@fearuncertaintydoubt: I don’t even want to know the physics involved with leviathan/normal human sized person secks.
@Bladefist: No, a religion is an (unsupported) belief along with some set of rituals. Not believing in god is not a religion.
@SkokieGuy:
@scarletvirtue (ΣΣΣ): trying this again … my HTML skills really suck today.
@SkokieGuy: “And this relates to Starbucks how? Ahhh, well if it becomes legal for me to marry, I’ll serve Starbucks at the reception, yeah, that’s it.
I love that idea – and since it’s (finally) legal for me to get married, then cake and Starbucks it is!
I would totally fuck that mermaid with two tails.
I am an Agnostic so I do wish the Bible Thumpers of America would STFU and mind their own self-righteous business!
However, damn that is one ugly logo. And don’t be naive. Of course Starbucks meant for her to look like she is spreading her legs…oops, tails. But I am not offended by the supposed illicit aspect of it, I am offended by how cheesy and tacky it looks. The overall effect of the logo is just ridiculous.
A chubby, spread-tailed mermaid with seaweed on her head. Yep, now I am in the mood for some coffee. Absurd.
First nasty coffee, now laughable logos. Will Starbucks ever stop offending?
There’s some subliminal advertising here but really,you have to stare it to even start going sinner.
The fact that Starbucks ‘studied’ the new logo and considered the logo to as ‘seductive’ as the coffee itself tells me they a have a target customer with this ‘modified’ logo.There very well might have been some thought here but really.
Now wether this is as evil as showing single frame pictures of popcorn and soda during a movie I don’t know.I still think most are buying coffee are going for a rush or comfort food and not looking for some action.As a matter of fact you want to keep customers in a Starbucks completely satisfied with their coffe,food and internet spending MONEY and not thinking about something else.
And after spending 5$-10$ a visit you won’t have any money left for anything else.It’s the price stupid:not the menu,not the logo or not untrained barristas:it’s the PRICE.
I am a Christian not offended by that. wow. unfortunately “the resistance” has to be associated with me somehow now.
they represent a group of SO-CALLED “Christians” looking to be offended by anything.
its getting to the point these days where I hate the term “Christian” because it gives the wrong connotation to a lot of people that do not deserve it.
there are dumb Christians just as much as there are dumb s people in the world.. it happens. its just some fundamentalist crazy group getting off their rocker.
those are the same kind of people that probably think any “nude art” is absolutely wrong. obnoxious.
^ “dumb s people” means “dumb (insertothergroupshere) people”
I’m surprised no one was offended by the old logo. The old siren was obviously having sex with a zebra…
Reminds me a quote I heard somewhere once ‘It’s not the gods I fear but those who claim to speak for them.’
I think its an ugly design. Typical of Christian groups to complain about nonsense but not actually be upset with the suffering in the world. The flaw of all religions…
It’s the same group that says “think of the children” while feeding kids junk food.
Can people bitch about stupider stuff? Don’t like it go get a coffee from mcdonalds. Jesus.
Here is the answer to why this mermaid has two tails.
[www.deadprogrammer.com]
Anybody remember Dr. Pepper and the made-up “offense” about putting the words “One nation…indivisible” on their cans, and how the fuckwit christians got tight-assed about the words “under god” not being on the cans?
The fuckwit christians in this case won’t be satisfied unless the “star” in Starbucks is a four-pointed star shaped like a crucifix and the female is changed to a virgin mary praying next to it.
This does not infer that I call all christians fuckwits, merely those who feel the need to foist their beliefs on others. If you can’t tell the difference, chances are you are one of said fuckwits.
Some information on subliminal advertising [www.classroomtools.com] .Makes you wonder why the ‘considered’ the change.Is anybody going to an inferno-I don’t think so.
To get a better understanding of what The Resistance is all about, I went to their website ([www.theresistancemanifesto.com]) where I learned that 9-11 was an “inside job”, RFID tags will be used to track us all, Barbara Walters is a slut, and of course, I was urged to vote for Ron Paul.
This video of what is probably the sole member of this group tells you everything you need to know about The Resistance:
@jesse0: that guy is such a fucking tool.
Hey people, the time to have objected to the woodcut would have been 500 years ago, when it was made. It’s damn tame and inoffensive. Why not try to tackle a real issue?
Where can I sign up to boycott Christian groups?