Starbucks Korea chose “Tank Day” for the anniversary of a massacre
Starbucks Korea apparently looked at the anniversary of soldiers using tanks to crush a democracy uprising and thought: great day to sell a “tank” tumbler.
The coffee chain sparked public outrage when it attempted to promote a large size of tumbler it calls a “tank” by declaring May 18 to be “Tank Day.” That’s the anniversary of a democratic uprising in the southern city of Gwangju that was brutally suppressed by troops, tanks and helicopters, killing or injuring hundreds.
The campaign compounded outrage by using the slogan “Thwack it on the table!,” which many read as a reference to a notorious 1987 police statement that attempted to cover up the torture death of student activist Park Jong-chol. Police claimed that Park died suddenly after investigators “hit the desk with a thwack.”
The bar for “don’t profiteer off a massacre” remains surprisingly hard for brands to clear.