Brandjack News

By Quentin langley

Asking people what makes them proud of their country is a good thing. Accidentally asking them what makes them proud of a neighbouring country is not such a good thing. This is particularly the case when you are mistaking people from a small country for their neighbours in a much larger country. Canadians hate being taken for Americans. New Zealanders resent any assumption that they are Australian. And given the fractious nature of relations between Ireland and the UK, that one could be the biggest faux pas of all.

With the UK celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth, asking people what makes them proud to be British was a great way for the American owned multinational to join in the four day weekend. If only they had sent the tweet from their UK account, and not from @StarbucksIE

Starbucks was quick to apologise, explaining that the tweet was meant to be sent only from their UK account, but the initial damage had been done. Ireland was more like Queen Victoria than Elizabeth: not amused.