Caribou to Starbucks Drinkers: Get Real

Caribou Coffee says, "Get real," to steer Starbucks customers toward Caribou’s new chocolate drinks that start with all-natural chocolate pieces.

The new TV commercial shows snooty marionettes in the mall posturing for each other until a real person sits down with a delicious-looking Caribou beverage. "Why don’t we ever go to Caribou?" she asks. "Because we’re not real."

I like this commercial, as far as it goes. The puppets are clever, from the bluetooth-enabled earpiece to the puzzled-looking chihuahua. Being "real" is trendy and excess is out in these troubled times. And the beverage looks delicious, and I want one for dessert.

This is where I get stuck. It looks like dessert. It doesn’t look like "real" coffee. "Real" coffee drinkers don’t get all that whipped cream and chocolate in their drinks. Caribou has a great cup of regular old joe. If it really wants to go head to head with Starbucks, Caribou should consider using that "real" coffee.

And what does it mean that now I have the "You Know When It’s Real" song from the Wendy’s commercial stuck in my head?

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