WTP Director Arturo Perez Jr. and Agency Big Spaceship Craft New Campaign for Starbucks’ 50th Anniversary Celebration

Words & Images by WTP

Posted 2022-11-07

Tags: documentary

WTP Director Arturo Perez Jr. and Agency Big Spaceship Craft New Campaign for Starbucks’ 50th Anniversary Celebration

Directed by WETHEPEOPLE Director Arturo Perez Jr. and edited by Cut+Run Editor Stacy Peterson, the campaign features the friendships that formed between baristas and regulars, a new romance blossoming over a coffee date, a caffeine-fueled brainstorming session crafting the ‘next big idea’, and the farmers whose magic beans have made our mornings livable since 1971.

“’Authenticity’ is a word that gets tossed around a lot, but people rarely invest the time, effort, and thinking to make something actually be or feel ‘authentic.’ However, Starbucks and Big Spaceship did,” shares Director Arturo Perez Jr. “From the very beginning, Starbucks was committed to realness and authenticity with the same kind of care and craft that they are known for in their business. All the baristas that you see in the spot are real baristas that currently work at Starbucks. The customers are real, even the couple is real.”

“This project was a meaningful and important one for everyone involved,” adds WETHEPEOPLE Executive Producer Susan Rued Anderson. “Arturo and the Big Spaceship team were always striving for those added things that would make this feel incredibly special and memorable.” Per an article with AdAge after the release of the campaign, Brady Brewer, Starbucks' chief marketing officer, said that the campaign feels very “purpose-driven” versus Starbucks throwing a birthday party for itself.

WTP Pictures

WTP Pictures

Arturo Perez Jr. on Starbucks set

“’Authenticity’ is a word that gets tossed around a lot, but people rarely invest the time, effort and thinking to make something actually be or feel ‘authentic.’ However, Starbucks and Big Spaceship did,” shares Director Arturo Perez Jr. “From the very beginning, Starbucks was committed to realness and authenticity with the same kind of care and craft that they are known for in their business. All the baristas that you see in the spot are real baristas that currently work at Starbucks. The customers are real, even the couple is real.”

“This project was a meaningful and important one for everyone involved,” adds WETHEPEOPLE Executive Producer Susan Rued Anderson. “Arturo and the Big Spaceship team were always striving for those added things that would make this feel incredibly special and memorable.”

Per an article with AdAge after the release of the campaign, Brady Brewer, Starbucks chief marketing officer, said that the campaign feels very “purpose driven” versus Starbucks throwing a birthday party for itself.

“...but there’s also this incredible opportunity for us in our 50th year for us to say, ‘This is what we stand for and this is what we’re trying to do in the world”

“We have really looked at the last year and it has been full of incredible challenges on so many levels and continues to be, but there’s also this incredible opportunity for us in our 50th year for us to say, ‘This is what we stand for and this is what we’re trying to do in the world,’” Brewer, who has been with the company for 20 years, said in an interview.