SEATTLE, Washington (The Adobo Chronicles) – Good publicity or bad publicity is still publicity. And publicity is good for business.

There has been a lot of controversy and social media debate over Starbuck’s decision to redesign their Christmas (okay, okay, ‘Holiday’) cups to just plain red without the usual holiday-themed designs of previous years.

Many individuals were offended by the new design, accusing Starbucks of taking “Christ” away from “Christmas.”

Well, it now appears that the complainants are stockholders of Starbucks who wanted to boost the coffee company’s holiday season business.  In recent years, Starbucks has come under serious competition from other coffee companies, resulting in the decline of its stock value.

The complainants were hoping that by “creating” a controversy, coffee lovers would empathize with Starbucks and bring their business to the Seattle-based company.

The Adobo Chronicles  could not independently confirm the identity of the Starbucks stockholders who masterminded this red cup controversy. We’re working on it.