Welcome to Dumb Starbucks, a new coffee shop that has opened in Los Angeles, which looks like every other Starbucks branch, including the classic coffee shop logo, drinks menu and branded cups. Except it’s nothing to do with the global chain – a fact denoted by the word "Dumb" in the title.
Set in the Los Feliz neighbourhood, this non-affiliated mirror image of an actual Starbucks shop might, you would think, run into a few legal problems from the actual chain, however by placing the word "Dumb" before the product the proprietors are hoping to protect themselves via the US parody law.
As outlined in the dumb shop’s FAQ: "Although we are a fully functioning coffee shop, for legal reasons Dumb Starbucks needs to be categorized as a work of parody art. So, in the eyes of the law, our 'coffee shop' is actually an art gallery and the 'coffee' you’re buying is considered the art. But that’s for our lawyers to worry about. All you need to do is enjoy our delicious coffee!"
So that’ll be a large frappuccino with an extra shot of the burlesque, please. Starbucks (the actual chain) say they are aware of the shop and are looking into it.
These are just "Dumb" CDs:
And some "Dumb" drinks:
Rumours abound that Dumb Starbucks isn’t actually art, but part of a reality TV series or even some form of bizarre viral marketing campaign by Starbucks themselves. Either way, patrons told local Kcal9 reporters that the coffee wasn’t as good as that from a real Starbucks.
We await the unmasking…