Dumb Starbucks' shop opened In Los Angeles by local comedian…

 pic: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters

According to The Guardian, the comedian Nathan Fielder has outed himself as the man behind a parody coffee shop called Dumb Starbucks that appeared to throw down a gauntlet to the real Starbucks, a TV stunt rather than an art installation or business start-up…

Long lines formed as word spread on the street and social media, prompting debate over whether it was Banksy-style pop-up art or an entrepreneur’s audacious attempt to simultaneously mock and purloin the Starbucks brand.

A fact sheet posted inside the shop claimed that by adding the word “dumb” it was technically making fun of Starbucks and so could use their trademarks under a law known as fair use.

It remains to be seen whether Starbucks get the joke and hopefully the coffee tastes as good as the real thing, but meanwhile some food for thought for others hoping to grow at the expense of the competition, in these flat-line times?

Thx Richard