I just got a new t-shirt for my Starbucks promo t-shirt collection! It is a Starbucks Canada Winter 2010 Olympics t-shirt! The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, and held from February 12th to the 28th. About that same time frame, Starbucks celebrated by releasing a limited edition Starbucks card with the “Olympic Village” image, as also seen on this t-shirt. I assume these t-shirts were promo shirts for in-store partners to wear. Recently, a partner knowing my soft spot for collecting promo t-shirts, sent me this shirt as a gift. It was a very unexpected surprise! Thank you!
One thing to note about the “Olympic Village” design is that neither the word “Olympics” nor the distinctive Olympic rings appear anywhere on the image. The reason for this is quite clear. The United States Olympic Committee is known to jealously guard their trademarks. In the absence of an official partnership/ sponsorship (which most certainly involves big big bucks!), no company may use the trademarked Olympics rings or verbiage. As I was doing some research for this article, I came upon this University of Massachusetts 2004 journal article which thoroughly discusses the interplay between the Olympics and trademark infringement. It’s a fascinating article! I thought the case study involving Discount Tire Company was particularly interesting. Discount Tire Company created a billboard with graphics showing tires placed in the same style as the trademark Olympic rings with multi languages welcoming people to the games. As is obvious, the United States Olympic Committee sued, and I am assuming easily prevailed.
I’ve had several past episodes about promotional t-shirts, and I highly recommend reading through these old episodes:
- Promotional t-shirts always tell a story.
- 14 t-shirts tell their story.
- T-shirts at Starbucks: Another episode.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the Olympics t-shirt! I have to warn that my blog is definitely going to slow down this month. I’m just very busy with other things, and I’ll have a little less time for writing blog articles. Don’t miss anything that I post! You can put your email address in the subscribe box which is in the right-hand column just below the coffee cup image, and/or click “like” on the blog’s Facebook page.
Photos taken by Molly of Seattle Custom Framing.
This is an open thread. Feel free to talk about anything Starbucks-related. I have heard a rumor that Sugar Free Mocha is going to offered this winter. Anyone else heard the same? And of course, coffee conversation is always a great idea.
15 Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Socialize
that is an awesome shirt! you are lucky to have one! i also love what it says on the back!
Great tee shirt Melody! Funny you should post this today because this morning at my local SB all the partners and the SM were wearing new tee shirts to promote the success they had in their district’s recent food drive. I love seeing the tee shirts.
I have an OT question. The only SB close to me is in a Target. The barristas are fabulous and it feels just like a regular SB. But because it’s in a Target, they are not allowed to accept tips. To be honest, I’m usually not that big of a tipper at SB. I think it has something to do with the fact that I use my gold card and rarely carry cash. Plus the tip jar is at the cash register and I personally don’t like tipping until after the service is rendered. But whatever the reason, my current barristas (at Target) are fantastic and I would tip then regularly if I could. So I’m wanting to give them some sort of Christmas gift. I’m looking for suggestions for gifts and advice on how to go about it. There are 6 people that work there. And while I’ve had every one of them at one time or another, only 2 know my name and drink. They see me in line and start making it before I even get to the register. (yes, I’m a creature of habit). So what do I give those 2? And is it rude to only get them something? Or do I need to gift them all. And is cash tacky?
Thoughts?
@Purple1 – Congrats on the food drive success at your store (I assume you contributed!) – What were the t-shirts like? There haven’t been any US promo t-shirts in ages! Was it the white t-shirt in this blog post? http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2011/06/17/grand-opening-a-new-starbucks-in-lynnwood-wa/
You should check the policy about gift giving. I have heard different stories about the ethics of doing it and of course since this SB is in a target am not sure of the rules. I too often have my drink waiting for me before I order because almost all the partners at my local SB know my drink! In fact, even another SB I frequent also knows what I like.
Hi Melody- Yes, of course I was actually one of the first customers to contribute to the drive and it was a very slow process of getting people to contribute so I kept on adding to the basket and partners knew initially it was my contribution. Finally though people started to contribute. The tee was a navy blue shirt and only saw the back wording and did not want to ask them to take their aprons off to see the front design. But, I knew as soon as I saw it that it was new and that it related to the food drive success.
@Amanda – Great question! I have seen some licensed stores that really give it their all! If I want to single out a partner and say a big thank you, once in a blue moon I will go get a gift card to Nordstrom and give to partners in an envelope – sealed and like a thank you card. Then when I see the partner, I just hand it directly to that person. The problem is that there are many fabulous partners, and I’d go broke quickly if I did that all the time. I always think that cash is a little tacky, but it will be appreciated! I have actually done that too – put cash in an envelope and give that to a partner. I’ve done that a few times when I know a partner is leaving, and it is his or her last day at a store where the partner has really been dynamic and wonderful. Again, so many great partners that I just have nearly given up doing anything other than tipping the tip jar because I can’t afford a bazillion gifts. In your case, there is no tip jar! That would annoy me!
What a great shirt! I remember seeing the Olympic Starbucks card on eBay, but I’ve never seen the shirt before! An excellent addition to your collection!
And I think this topic of gift-giving is really cool! At my close-to-home Starbucks, there was this fabulous Barista and when she told me she was leaving, I decided to get her a card. It wasn’t a big deal, it didn’t cost me a lot—but I had just started college and didn’t have much to spare!—but it seemed to mean a lot to her. I love the idea of being able to let a Barista know when they’ve gone above and beyond and really made your day. 🙂
I have that shirt! I love the shade the blue! And when we wear it with our green aprons we did look like the winter Olympics because the theme for Vancouver 2010 was blue and green!! It was one of my Starbucks tshirts that I liked more :-). I still have it sitting in my closet. It brings back so many memories. And I remember during that time, because we would have so many tourists coming to the city, we had a sign with 4 of our more popular drinks written in English, French, Spanish, Mandarin and Japanese or something like that.
I love the design we had for the Vancouver Olympics stuff. Obviously we didn’t get the shirts on the other end of the country, but I always wish I’d gotten one of those gift cards.
Amanda – We often get group gifts for Christmas. A big box of candy, a box of oranges, etc. It helps keep us going during the busy season! I also got a gift from one of my regular customers last year which was a pretty Christmas candle. I know that she did not give gifts to everyone, and I don’t think others were offended. I don’t think cash is tacky, but I know that if I opened and envelope from a customer that had cash in it I’d feel compelled to give it back!
So awesome! So many things we don’t ever see, even though they would sell here!
@Amanda we have regulars bring us a lot of goodies at Christmas time, and we love them all. It doesn’t matter if it’s something homemade or a bag of chocolates for those of us they know, or even a card. It means a LOT no matter what!
*blushes* oh they were partner shirts! *feels silly*
So odd what happens in one place and not another!
That is a very nice shirt, and I quite like the color. ^.^
Now, about that sugar-free mocha…I’ll keep an eye out for it the next time I head on over to Starbucks. I also have to try a pumpkin-spice latte at some point!
Amanda… I can’t speak for a Target Starbucks, but when I worked at the BN Cafe, our policy was that we were not allowed to solicit tips (with a cup or jar), but if they were offered, we were allowed to accept them. I don’t know if that helps you at all.