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 threadAI6YR BenJun 16

CNBC: "...Sohn’s dismissal came hours after Starbucks launched its “Tank Day” campaign on Monday promoting what it called its “Tank” line of tumblers with the tagline “put it on the table with a sound of ‘Tak!’”

Monday also marked Democratisation Movement Day, which commemorates the student-led Gwangju Uprising of May 1980, and the campaign drew strong criticism in South Korea....

Critics also questioned the use of the phrase “tak” for echoing explanations by South Korean police in 1987 for the death of a student protester, who was found to have been tortured. At the time, police said the student died after investigators struck a desk making a “tak” sound, according to local media reports."

#starbucks #korea #massacre

Show threadAI6YR BenJun 16
**this is far worse than the Chevy No-va in South America. (widely cited in marketing books, but I don't see supporting stuff online for that nowadays. 🤔 Who knows now in the age of AI?) #marketing
Show threadCassandraVert
@ai6yr That's so specific and uncommon that it sounds deliberately offensive.
Jun 16 at 4:27amWeb
Show threadJoris MeysJun 16

@CassandraVert
They asked AI. It produced the associations in the data. Work as intended, not as desired.

@ai6yr