Starbucks is experiencing a turnaround, with a 9% revenue increase in the US under CEO Brian Niccol, who joined from Chipotle in late 2024. The brand strategy has been successfully focused on the coffee chain as “third place” where people come together in person to hang out.
Anomaly’s new “Made in Starbucks” campaign brings this strategy to life. It’s all about community and creativity, full of young people making music, writing, knitting and generally feeling inspired as they sip their flat whites.
Vic Robertson, marketing director of Starbucks UK, said: “Starbucks has always been about more than coffee. Made in Starbucks celebrates the communities already thriving in our stores and reinforces our commitment to creating welcoming spaces where people can come together and create.”
Anomaly worked with Havas Media, Edelman and Linney Create. The campaign includes plenty of in-store activity, and some store windows are going to be turned over to local creatives as a canvas for their artwork.
Toby Allen, chief creative officer at Anomaly, said: “Made in Starbucks was built around a simple creative principle: capture what’s really happening in the coffeehouse. Instead of creating a polished version of creativity, we put real customers, baristas and makers at the heart of the campaign, documenting the conversations, ideas and passions that come to life in Starbucks stores every day. The result is work that feels authentic, human and rooted in genuine stories.”
“Authentic” might be stretching it. Not all Starbucks are sparkling clean and full of attractive, smiling people being creative, but it makes its point very clearly.
MAA creative scale: 6.5
