Starbucks Drags a 1990s Sitcom Cat Out of Retirement to Sell a Frappuccino
The Black Cat Frappuccino and Venti Black Night Cookie landed October 22 for a limited Halloween run, and Starbucks hired Salem, the talking cat from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," to front the whole thing.
Starbucks is going heavier on nostalgia than chocolate this Halloween. The company launched two new seasonal items on October 22: a Black Cat Frappuccino Blended Beverage, built on a Creme Frappuccino base with rich cocoa for brownie-like flavor and topped with whipped cream and chocolate cat ears, sold only in grande size, and a Venti Black Night Cookie, a shareable dark chocolate cookie loaded with caramel fudge pieces and chunks of caramelized white chocolate. Both are available for a limited run through Halloween at participating US stores.
The actual hook is not the drink, it is the mascot. Starbucks says Salem, the sardonic black cat from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," is "coming out of retirement" to help launch the items, with more Salem content promised across the brand's social channels through the holiday. Salem belongs to Archie Comics, and the announcement points fans who want a refresher toward full seasons of the show streaming on Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
It is a tidy bit of borrowed nostalgia: a character built for millennials who grew up on TGIF sitcoms, reanimated to sell a drink to the same audience now old enough to have a Starbucks habit and a disposable income. No pricing was disclosed, which, for a seasonal novelty drink with cat ears made of whipped cream, is probably for the best.
Source: Starbucks Stories
Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →
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