I read this in the Wall Street Journal

Because the green Starbucks logo is so pervasive, the switch to the retro version is an immediate attention-grabber. It’s just one part of a much broader effort underway at Starbucks, in which the company is stressing a return to its roots and working to reemphasize its brewed-coffee chops. (Click here to read more from today’s Journal.) To much fanfare, Starbucks today unveiled a new blend, Pike Place Roast, meant to have a smoother taste. The change isn’t permanent–the retro logo is being used temporarily. But in the annals of brand identity, switching away from a high-recognition logo–even for a promotion–is an unusual move.

Starbucks has jumped the shark twice recently. That is, they’ve created PR stunts to gain popularity, but in fact, lead to their demise. It seems to be a trend for Starbucks to use PR ploys more and more rather than sticking to their simple brand promise. I think changing the logo is less annoying, however, than closing all Starbucks in the U.S. for three hours recently making people ask the question: " Is life still good without Starbucks?". The answer for me is yes.

I’m not suggesting Starbucks simply should sit still in their business until something better comes along, but I think they should look for real paradigm shifting changes to their business that require much more difficult risks than changing their logo for a couple of weeks.

My advice to Starbucks would be to study cases of businesses where they seemed to have jumped the shark with their brand and succeeded. One that comes to mind is the show Twin Peaks. They jumped the shark in the very first episode  and got more and more boring afterwards, and yet they stretched the series for many season? How? By trying to reveal pieces of the mystery in each episode, they came up with a long puzzle to solve that requires the audience to watch every second. Kind of like Steve Jobs makes PR mysteries at Apple by giving hints at what they’re going to unveil.

Buzzwatch : Grande Logo Switch: Is Starbucks’ New Cup Grabby–or a Grind?