How Starbucks’s red cup became a holiday icon and a symbol of its workers’ discontent

In a new holiday ad for Starbucks, set to the tune of I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers, two adorable animated figures traipse across Starbucks’s red holiday cups to reunite. It’s a sweet video that highlights Starbucks’s transition into the winter holidays, one of the biggest sales moments of the year for the company.

But while the iconic red cups are starring in Starbucks’s early holiday promotion, they’ve also become the center of an ongoing dispute with Starbucks Workers United—and a potential strike.

On November 6, Starbucks released its holiday menu in stores, including seasonal beverages, treats, and cups. The rollout heralds the arrival of Red Cup Day on November 13, an annual event when Starbucks offers free reusable cups to any customer who makes a holiday beverage purchase. Last year, an internal memo from Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, showed that Red Cup Day 2024 was the company’s best U.S. sales day of all time.