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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Music and Concerts devider NCT loses one million Instagram followers due to boycott over coffee retailer collaboration

NCT loses one million Instagram followers due to boycott over coffee retailer collaboration

Published Jun 6, 2024 06:14 am

K-pop boy band NCT lost one million followers on Instagram following their collaboration with Starbucks Korea for summer product and food promotions.

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NCT Dream at their 2024 NCT DREAM WORLD TOUR

Netizens have been campaigning to boycott Starbucks due to the Israel-Hamas war, which started last October. 

They accused Starbucks of supporting Israel. Last October, Starbucks Workers United (SWU) in the US posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Solidarity with Palestine.”

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The post by the Starbucks Workers United last October (Photo from Starbucks complaint vs Workers United)

Starbucks sued SWU for using its name and logo. 

“For example, SBWU posted on X, using the Starbucks Marks and Starbucks Works, stating ‘Solidarity with Palestine.’ That post contained more than this statement alone. Rather, that quote was directed to amplify the message below, which described the picture in the post as the ‘Bulldozer operated by Gaza Resistance tearing down’ a fence on the Gaza strip during the attack on Israel on October 7,” according to the lawsuit filed by Starbucks. 

On its website, Starbucks stated that “the inaccurate attribution of these statements to Starbucks created confusion, leading to threats to our partners, damage to our stores, and calls for boycott.”   

“Starbucks took legal action to end misuse of Starbucks name and logos and to protect the safety of our partners and retail operations. To be clear, Starbucks respects others’ right to express their own viewpoints about the conflict in the Middle East and other political and social issues. Starbucks cannot permit the misuse of Starbucks name and logos, especially when those misuses lead to mistaken attribution of others statements to Starbucks,” it said. 

In an op-ed piece by Workers United President Lynne Fox on Oct. 20 on In These Times, she wrote, “The company seized on a single tweet from the Starbucks Workers United account expressing solidarity with Palestine that was written by one person and not authorized by the union or its workers, and that was quickly deleted. It conveniently ignored other tweets that called for peace.”

“Starbucks is seeking to exploit the ongoing tragedy in Gaza and Israel to bolster an anti-union campaign that has already resulted in more than 270 violations of the National Labor Relations Act by falsely attacking the union’s reputation with workers and the public,” wrote Fox. 

About the conflict in Israel and Gaza, Starbucks posted on its website on Dec. 29, “Starbucks is a global company committed to providing a place where everyone feels welcome and a sense of belonging, anywhere in the world. We abhor hate and strongly reject violence against the innocent. Despite false statements spread through social media, Starbucks has never contributed to any government or military operation in any way.”

However, the campaign to boycott Starbucks has continued. 

Starbucks Korea and NCT collaboration 

The campaign to boycott Starbucks also involved NCT. 

Last May 23, Starbucks Korea announced a summer collaboration with NCT. It said from May 30 to July 4, a variety of products including drinks and food will be offered in Korea. There are also merchandise items to be sold like NCT concert  bag and key ring. 

On May 30, or the first day of the promo, Starbucks Korea announced that the NCT concert  bag sold out and the NCT mug was about to run out of stocks. 

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NCT's Instagram account (Screenshot from Instagram)NCT5.jpg

NCT's X account (Screenshot from X)

“We look forward to collaborating with global K-POP artist NCT and will provide a differentiated experience to visiting fans and customers,” said Kim Beom-su, Starbucks Korea marketing manager.

Since the collaboration was announced, netizens have posted comments on NCT’s social media accounts such as boycotting Starbucks. 

The NCT Instagram account promotes all NCT groups including NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV and NCT Wish, and individual projects. 

As a result of the boycott, NCT lost a little over a million followers on Instagram. 

Based on data from analytics website Social Blade, in eight days from May 29 to June 5, NCT’s Instagram account lost a total of 1,087,756 followers. 

The biggest decrease was on May 30, or on the first day of the Starbucks Korea-NCT promo, when NCT’s Instagram account lost 480,786 followers. 

The following day, May 31, the Instagram account lost 188,514 followers. On May 29, it decreased by 185,306 followers. 

As of this writing, NCT’s Instagram account had 16.2 million followers. 

In addition, NCT’s X (formerly Twitter) account @NCTsmtown also lost 131,705 followers in seven days from May 30 to June 5. 

The biggest decrease was on May 30 with 52,475 people unfollowing the account. As of this writing, it had 11.1 million followers. 

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