AI6YR BenJun 16

The Guardian: Starbucks Korea to temporarily shut all stores for history lesson after bungled coffee promotion

"...The Gwangju massacre is a painful memory for many. Over 10 violent days, paratroopers crushed pro-democracy protests against military strongman Chun Doo-hwan. Victims’ groups say hundreds were killed.

Starbucks branded the date of its promotion “Tank Day”. It also featured the slogan “thwack on the desk”, evoking a notorious police explanation for the 1987 torture death of student activist Park Jong-chul. Authorities falsely claimed he had died after an officer “hit the desk with a thwack” during questioning.

Marketers chose the “thwack” slogan after consulting an AI tool for suggestions, Shinsegae Group said...."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/16/starbucks-korea-shut-all-stores-tank-day-promotion

#starbucks #AI #fiasco #korea

Starbucks Korea to temporarily shut all stores for history lesson after bungled coffee promotion

The closures, so employees can watch a recorded lecture, will cost the company an estimated 2.1bn won ($1.4m) in sales

The Guardian
Show threadJonathanJun 16

@ai6yr

"Chung issued a written apology, and also apologised in a televised press conference where he bowed three times."

Well three is better than but I got to say I was expecting at least four and a half.

Show threadJonathanJun 16

@ai6yr

I will say this though: I previously thought that there were no real use cases for LLMs. However, the LLM in this case got the CEO fired pretty quickly, so perhaps I've been selling them short.

Show threadAI6YR Ben
@jmcrookston 😂
Jun 16 at 4:14amWeb