Mar 3, 2015

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) posted on Feb. 18 a picture of women with traditional Armenian gear, holding a Starbucks coffee cup, under the Turkish crescent and star flags on their Facebook account. Under the photo, which was displayed at the Mulholland and Calabasas stores in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles, ANCA posed the question: “Why is Starbucks selling coffee using an image of women, dressed in traditional Armenian costumes, celebrating a Turkish state that systematically victimized Armenian women during the Armenian genocide, and that still denies this crime against all humanity?” Starbucks, known as a rather liberal establishment, promptly issued an apology and removed the posters, which were displayed in a couple of locations in Southern California. The photographer responsible for the design of the poster, Timothy Rose, also issued an apology on his Web page explaining that he had not known the women were Armenian.

When asked for the sentiments of Armenian-Americans about the Starbucks posters, Aram Hamparian, the executive director of ANCA, told Al-Monitor, “We felt that the Starbucks ad inappropriately used images of women dressed in traditional Armenian costumes to glorify a Turkish state that brutally persecuted Armenian women during the Armenian genocide and that still, to this day, denies this crime against all humanity.” Indeed, the reaction was so strong, Hamparian informed Al-Monitor, that the entire campaign to remove the posters lasted about five hours. He said, “Armenian-Americans are generally a highly networked community that follows Armenian issues closely and that is quick to react to misrepresentations in politics, media or advertising. Social media, of course, helps Armenians to more quickly connect to one another and to more effectively communicate our collective concerns. We saw this on the morning of the Starbucks poster. In the course of just a few hours, we were alerted to the ads, developed quick graphics, generated protests, engaged Starbucks and resolved the issue to everyone's satisfaction.”

Several pundits agree it was just a marketing effort gone wrong. Although the swift resolution of the matter must have pleased Armenian-Americans and Americans in general, there was another group that was not pleased: some misinformed Turks.

The news was reported quite differently in Turkey. One report alleged Starbucks branches in Los Angeles had female hostesses dressed in Turkish traditional dress and flags serving coffee, and this is what had angered Armenian-Americans. On Feb. 22, Adana Mayor Huseyin Sozlu had the municipal police hang Turkish flags in Starbucks branches as customers clapped. Sozlu told the press, “As April 24 approaches, the Armenian diaspora will be increasing its attacks on Turkey and the Turkish nation. On the 100th year of the alleged Armenian genocide, they launched an operation to remove the Turkish flag. And here in Adana, we hung up our honorable flag in front of Starbucks branches to retaliate.”

Turks were divided on social media about the appropriate reaction to the episode. One tweeted: “After this point, I suspect the loyalty to Turkey of anyone who steps into a Starbucks.” Others were more cynical. One tweeted: “The mindset is tragic and comical. Those who fail to protect their flag within their own borders are now putting up flags with the police force at Starbucks storefronts.”