The year is 2025. A chai seller from Nagpur is more famous than most Bollywood actors. Bill Gates personally endorses his tea. Famous influencers and celebrities go to him to try his tea. We’re talking about the internet sensation who went viral for his unique chai-making skills. None other than Dolly Chaiwala.
Recently, he’s been in news for becoming the brand ambassador of Starbucks (or so did everyone believe)
Only later to find out that it was ALL A LIE.
So here’s the full story…
The Full Story of Starbucks & Dolly Chaiwala
In a world where a tea seller can buzz the internet just by serving chai to Bill Gates, anything feels possible. So when social media announced that Dolly Chaiwala had become Starbucks’ brand ambassador, many just accepted it.
What might’ve started as an April fool’s day post had the whole country believing that Dolly Chaiwala is actually the Indian Brand Ambassador for Starbucks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DH5mwuHhqez/?igsh=OWg2b3Q4bmhyajM1
So people started making posts, analysing the marketing move, criticising the move and whatnot…
https://www.instagram.com/p/DH_sYIJhuSe/?igsh=dTQ3MW1zOHN5bjE3
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKr92X1zcIB/?igsh=MXd3YzJkcmphZXN3ZQ==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJBwZwyTEeP/?igsh=MXU4dHl1N211a2R4cg==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKwEr1KR9hj/?igsh=MTZmbHI4bTVoOHhsaw==
One of those geniuses who knows didn’t fall for the social trap (Respect):
Posts and posts about the news of the collaboration popped up on the internet, and no one bothered to fact-check the news.
Because everyone wanted to capitalise on the social buzz of the news (we don’t blame them tbh…)
But after all the social hungama, Tata Starbucks comes out to clarify that there was NO collaboration between them and Dolly Chaiwala. Here’s their official statement:
Conclusion:
What started as an April fool’s day post (possiblly) turned into a rumour that made millions of people believe in it.
“Dolly Chaiwala is the brand ambassador of Tata Starbucks”
Takeaway:
This whole story exposes one main thing:
The dangerous power of social media.
If used responsibly, social media becomes a tool to change the world (with your product).
But if used irresponsibly, it can become the very source of false news, deepfakes, and far more notorious activities.
As marketers, we live in this heavenly time of social media making our work far mor easier than ancient times, only if we make use of it.
So get those social glasses on and start marketing your brand…
Or contact us here if you need help with getting your online presence boosted!
