Amidst the controversy over Seattle based Starbucks' plain red cup, rival company and New England based Dunkin' Donuts launched its own holiday cup adorned with designs in green and red, the Dunkin' Donuts' cup contains a single-word message: JOY.
The company released the announcement through their website. It states: "Dunkin' Donuts offers a host of holiday merchandise, including limited-edition branded holiday ornaments in five fun choices, including a Dunkin' Donuts Ugly Christmas Sweater, a snowman, a holiday ball, a Dunkie Snow Globe and a box of the brand's famous donuts. Dunkin' Donuts also offers branded mugs, tumblers, gift baskets, and more."
Although the cup featured what seems to be a Christmas wreath around the word JOY, it did not feature anything about Christianity and that of Jesus Christ on the cross.
However, North Carolina's Faith Driven Consumer, a Christian group, seems to back Dunkin' Donuts. A statement released by the group states, "Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts are both free to design their cups and express their values as they see it. By creating cups that specifically message the Joy of the Christmas Season-in sharp contrast to Starbucks' 'blank canvas' - Dunkin' Donuts has specifically welcomed faith- driven consumers, and all Americans who love Christmas."
Meanwhile, Starbucks has remained mum about the launching. It has further stood behind their design, which according to them "allows customers to put their unique drawings and message on it." The company's vice president of design and content also said in a statement: "We're embracing the simplicity and the quietness of it. It's a more open way to usher in the holiday."
With regard to both designs, Dave Tupper, creative director at the Brooklyn-based design agency Huge, told NBC, has this to say: "Even if you had zero approval and the design was finished, it would still take at least a month or two months to get it printed and distributed. Even local manufacturers take a couple months to produce something [like this] and Dunkin Donuts is certainly printing its cups in China."
One individual, however, seems not to be affected by the cups of these two coffee companies. In an Instagram post, one person said: "It's ... just ... a cup. If a stupid design defines your holiday...then you should rethink your priorities."
