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Food

The 12 Most Unnecessary Pumpkin-Flavored Products

By Matthew Bower on

Fall is in the air, and that means, once again, it’s that time of year when nothing’s safe from being pumpkinized. This year, the endless flurry of pumpkin- and pumpkin-spice-flavored goods and services seems to have gotten a bit out of hand. The popularity of Starbucks’ autumnally emblematic Pumpkin Spice Latte has ushered in an anything-goes mentality among marketing strategists, leading some to compare the newfound ubiquity of pumpkin to bacon, others to remind us of the oft-forgotten history of the pumpkin-spice trade, and yet other rabid partisans to come to its defense.

But whether we actually like pumpkin or we’re simply addicted to corn syrup and pumpkin pie spice seems beside the point; there are certain things that are just better off free from pumpkin tyranny. We’ve put together a list of some of the stranger manifestations of the pumpkin craze we’ve seen this season. Stock up while these last, because it’s only a matter of time before all the candy canes and “holiday spice” products take over. … Read More

Pop Culture

A Selection of Brands’ Responses to Their Products’ Depiction on TV and Film

By Victoria McNally on

Placing brand named products on either the big or small screen can be a tricky feat. Even if a movie or TV show is actually being sponsored by a particular company and is contractually bound to include them in the script, the company isn’t always happy with the way it’s represented. But the stakes can… Read More

Design

The Craziest Starbucks That You’ve Ever Seen

By Caroline Stanley on

Should you make your way to the Dazaifu Tenmangu, a popular Shinto shrine in Dazaifu, Japan, you’ll find this eye-catching new Starbucks among the more traditional buildings along your path. The brainchild of the architects at Kengo Kuma and Associates, the coffee shop was built using “a unique system of weaving thin woods diagonally” — over 2,000 batons to be precise.

“Piling up of small parts from the ground was highly developed in the traditional architecture of Japan and China,” they explain. “This time the method was greatly improved in combination with state-of-the art technology so that people are brought further into the architecture. It is a fluid, cave-like space.” Do you find the resulting space as unique and visually appealing as we do? Does looking at these images make you crave an iced Venti? … Read More

Pop Culture

Famous Logos Cleverly Reimagined

By Alison Nastasi on

We love these clever reimaginings of famous logos that Stock Logos created. The website looked at technology titans like Apple and Microsoft — and brand names like Starbucks and Gap — and put a humorous spin on their symbols with a minimalist twist. Did we mention the website imagines what the designs looked like in the past and future? Volkswagen was just starting to produce cars in 1939 when World War II broke out — which may explain the runic symbolism of Stock Logo’s earliest version. Nokia’s logo completely disappears by the time 2015 rolls around (sounds about right), Firefox’s future is a wash by 2050 — a sad end to its firebird beginnings, and IBM finally gets the “blue screen of death” in 2042. Check them all out past the break, and tell us which ones seem most accurate. … Read More

Design

Popular Logos Viewed Through the Eyes of a Five-Year-Old

By Alison Nastasi on

After watching this video that Ohio designer Adam Ladd created with his five-year-old daughter, you’ll be smiling from ear to ear. Ladd asked her to share her thoughts about popular logos belonging to some of the world’s biggest corporations. She candidly shares her feelings about each image — in only a way that a five-year-old can — and the commentary is adorable, insightful, and allows you to look at age-old brands in a refreshing way. She instantly recognizes the Disney, Apple, and McDonald’s logos, which isn’t too surprising. Other symbols are simplified to a funny degree. Starbucks simply becomes the “coffee logo,” and anything that looks like it could be a cheetah is a cheetah (Greyhound, Puma, etc.). Check out her commentary past the break. … Read More

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. The sale of Borders was officially approved yesterday, and as Gizmodo says, reading the 40-year-old book retailer’s goodbye email “is like watching Old Yeller in slow motion.”

2. Some exciting news for music lovers who hate to travel: YouTube announced today that it’s planning to live stream both Lollapalooza (August 5-7) and… Read More

Partner Buzz

Seattle's Greatest Cultural Contributions of the Past 40 Years

By Lorenzo Ragionieri on

If you’re anything like us, then you’ve been harboring a healthy obsession with what might be called The Seattle Cannon for years, and you probably didn’t even realize it. Not only is Seattle one of the most literate cities in the US, it’s also home to a group of writers who have advanced America’s literary tradition, and considerably. Because the life of American letters is so often the subject of Flavorpill coverage, we are excited to announce our launch in Seattle. Be sure to tell all your friends from Washington to sign up for Flavorpill!

Starbucks is sponsoring our Seattle launch, and by way of a thank you (and in honor of their recent 40th anniversary), we’re running a retrospective of the city’s most noteworthy cultural contributions over the past four decades. Check out our final spotlight on Mary McCarthy, Jon Krakauer, and Tom Robbins after the jump. … Read More

Partner Buzz

Seattle's Greatest Cultural Contributions of the Past 40 Years

By Lorenzo Ragionieri on

You’ve probably read by now that Flavorpill is launching in Seattle, and we can’t think of a more apropos cultural environment for our brand of arts and event coverage. We’ve already reported on the contributions to film and music that Seattle and its citizens have made over the course of the four decades that Starbucks has been in town. Today our focus is on the Seattle Art Museum, an institution that is offering up a new model for how a museum can contribute to a city’s culture at large.

Starbucks is sponsoring our Seattle launch, and by way of a thank you (and in honor of their recent 40th anniversary), we’re running a retrospective of the city’s most noteworthy cultural contributions over the past four decades. Click through to check out our spotlight on the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). … Read More

Partner Buzz

Seattle’s Greatest Cultural Contributions of the Past 40 Years

By Lorenzo Ragionieri on

At long last, Flavorpill Seattle is launching, and we’re excited to be descending on the Northwestern capital of the good kind of weirdness. As the hometown of more than a few objects of Flavorpill affection (Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, Mark Morris, and Rainn Wilson, to name a few), Seattle has spent the last forty years quietly evolving into a hotspot for film, music, literature, and museum culture.

Starbucks is sponsoring our Seattle launch, and by way of a thank you (and in honor of their recent 40th anniversary), we’re running a retrospective of the city’s most noteworthy cultural contributions over the past four decades. Check out our spotlight on the Seattle International Film Festival after the jump. … Read More

Partner Buzz

Nirvana Descends on Seattle (Again)

By Flavorpill on

You know who helped Starbucks turn 40? You did. Now Starbucks is celebrating Flavorpill subscribers. Majorly.

To commemorate the revolution in American coffeehouse culture that we all participated in, Starbucks and Flavorpill have designed a visual tribute to you guys — the Starbucks Signature Gallery — and we want YOU to send us your most creative pictures.

Vitals: take a picture of yourself with your Starbucks Signature Drink, send it to starbucks@flavorpill.com, and make sure to include the drink’s name in the subject line. If your photo is selected as one of the winning submissions, you’ll take home some serious prizes. … Read More