When Highly Caffeinated People Get Artistic...

Corporate-organized contests can definitely be a little stupid – they're essentially marketing schemes, and may not be at all interesting to real-life customers. But Starbucks sure has hit one out of the park with #WhiteCupContest, a call for user-submitted photos of Starbucks cups that have been doodled and drawn upon. The #WhiteCupContest entries are all in, and they are delightful.

Probably this contest did so well because the Starbucks creative team took their lead from what customers were already doing — they had spotted customers decorating cups in the wild long before the contest ever existed. Although it's too late to submit your design (the winner's design will be made into a reusable cup this fall) it's never too late to draw on your cup just for fun.

Given how much people seem to enjoy decorating their own cups, though, I'm not sure how well the winning design's reusable cup will sell. Maybe Starbucks should consider selling a reusable cup with a paper insert for decorating — it'd be the best of both worlds (environmentally-friendly and do-it-yourself).