THE holidays often cause more stress than cheer. To help people forget their holiday-induced stress, Starbucks recently came up with an innovative marketing gimmick for its limited-edition red cup drinks.

For several days in December, a car with a Starbucks cup stuck on its roof made its way around different parts of the city.

The aim was to get pedestrians to notice the cups and point out the goof to the supposedly hapless passengers. If anyone pointed out the cups to the driver, they would get a Cheer Pass from Starbucks, entitling them to a free cup of mocha praline coffee.

Inquirer went along on one coffee run through the Ortigas area, where the Starbucks car passed through densely populated areas such as Megamall, The Podium, Shangri-La, UA&P, Tektite and Ortigas Jr. Avenue.

The trip proved to be more than a cute marketing gimmick—it was also a social experiment of sorts. While a lot of people came up to the car to point out the cup to the passengers, a greater number chose to ignore the cup or just stare at it.

For some reason, the people who went out of their way to chase after the car or drive up to it were blue-collar workers. Cab and jeepney drivers, vendors, traffic enforcers and metro aides were always the first to point out the cup, while office workers and students mostly stared and giggled or didn’t see the cup at all—proof that many people fail to see past their own noses when they’re caught up in their daily activities.

There were a lot of suspicious folks as well. In a few instances, when the Starbucks marketers rolled down the window or alighted from the car to hand out the Cheer Pass, the otherwise helpful pedestrians either ran away (probably fearing that they were caught in an episode of “Wow Mali”) or slunk back into a sea of people.

Starbucks gave out most of the Cheer Passes while driving along the back roads, and the fewest tickets in crowded areas such as malls and offices. (Even as the car drove very slowly along Tektite, not a single person bothered to point out the cup on the roof.)

For the most part, however, people were often a little embarrassed that they fell for the prank, but delighted to receive the voucher for free coffee.

Email the author at biancaconsunji@yahoo.com.