Perception vs Reality, how do ads shape our experience?

Corporations would have us believe their products, atmosphere and lifestyle are powerful enough, magic enough to transport us into a place of wonder. I believe we all know this is not quite the case. While it might be true that going through the motions of being a consumer offers a bit of escape from the mundane, we are simply placed back to our ordinary lives once our experience is over.

I wanted to explore this line between fantasy and reality which corporations so often balance on like an acrobat high above the rest of us. So I wanted to compare the supposed experience an advertisement proclaims is reality and the experience itself. In Starbucks’ commercial celebrating fifty years, titled Starbucks 50: Possible is Just the Beginning, we are taken to a world where baristas at our local coffee shop remember our names and our orders, to a world where grabbing coffee for the office makes all the difference in the outcome of a project. We are taken to a world where we are not separate, but are connected to each other and our humanity through coffee.

I decided to visit a local Starbucks and see if coffee really did connect us, or if a vanilla sweet cream cold brew was not really the answer to life. Everything was proceeding as a normal Starbucks run might go--I waited in line for my turn, the barista greeted me with a warm, “Hi, hun, what can I get started for you today,” and I ordered. This location was particularly busy, so I sat and passed the time on my phone. Minutes later, “Karen” arrived.

As the barista on the bar called out the drink, they had just ran out of straws for the venti cups, and asked “Karen” if grande straws would be okay. She said yes, and left with her order. Moments later, “Karen” barged through the patio door and made her way directly to the pick up area. She was outraged to have received a grande straw, and demanded to speak to the manager. The barista on the bar kindly said, “ma’am, I am the manager, and I do apologize for this inconvenience, but we did inform you previously that we were out of venti straws.”

This interaction proceeded for at least ten minutes until the outraged customer finally demanded a refund. She left in a huff, and a few moments later my order was ready. The barista apologized to me for running out of straws, and I assured them I did not mind. As I compare my experience of visiting Starbucks and the experience of viewing their advertisement, there are harsh disconnects. I go to this location nearly every day, yet I do not think I have ever been remembered by a barista. The experience of being in a coffee shop is more or less the same--there are people studying, people on dates, people picking up large orders for others, but there is not that sensation of magic. Starbucks is just as mundane as any other aspect of life as a consumer.