To paraphrase former Vice President Thomas Marshall, what this country needs is a good one-dollar cup of coffee. Yet McDonald's and Starbucks are determined to take coffee to a higher (and more profitable) level.
Two days ago, I was sent this incredibly boring Starbucks' promotional video in which CEO Howard Schultz sits around a table with some frightened baristas and asks them what they think of Starbucks' new print ads.
Surprise! The baristas say they like them and they all laugh at the ads that say things like "Starbucks or nothing. Because compromise leaves a really bad aftertaste," and "Beware of a cheaper cup of coffee. It comes with a price."
Although the ads never mention McDonald's, Starbucks is inferring that McDonald's is the place with inferior, cheap cups of coffee. The Golden Arches quite coincidentally have also launched an advertising campaign this week for McCafé, the new coffee machines in nearly all of the company's stores.
Since early last year when McDonald's decided coffee was the wave of the
future, it has made franchisees buy the espresso equipment -- which costs nearly $100,000. Now
it looks as if it's ready to reward its patient franchise base by rolling out
McCafé-based ads that portray McCafe "as a fun, affordable brand that can make even the most mundane daily tasks more enjoyable."
A
large cappuccino runs just under $4 at McDonald's, compared to just over $4 at
Starbucks. But instead of pointing out the minuscule price difference,
Starbucks is going the opposite direction with its superior-versus-cheap approach.
There is no
telling whether either company's campaign will work, but as people get more
comfortable with the idea of high-end coffee from McDonald's and become
less tolerant of Starbucks' attitude, then Howard Schultz's ads might
start getting really vicious.
This has the potential to turn into the food equivalent of Apple vs. Microsoft.
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