“Today is the last day to order these 13 Starbucks drinks” https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/03/business/starbucks-menu-drinks-eliminated/index.html
A headline that I came across recently and thought was great was “Today is the last day to order these 13 Starbucks drinks” on CNN. First, I thought this headline was great because it follows the 4 U’s that we discussed in class on the topic of what makes a headline “good”, and it does these things while resonating with me as a consumer. First of all, the headline is unique because it is on the topic of Starbucks drinks that are being taken off of the menu “today” meaning that it is covering the issue while it is relevant and trending, on the last day that these items are available. uses urgency as a way to entice readers to click on it by using the words “today is the last day to order”. This resonates with me because as a regular Starbucks consumer, it is not often that you see such a large amount of menu items get taken off at once, usually it is a couple seasonable drinks and food items coming and going. This unique and unusual move from Starbucks along with the Headlines clarity resonated with me, making it an attention-grabbing headline.
Next, this headline is ultra-specific, which makes it a great headline and also adds to why it resonated with me. It is specific because it is specifically stating that “Today is the last day to order these 13 Starbucks drinks”, it’s telling readers specifically when (today), and what (is the last day to order these 13 Starbucks drinks) so that immediately the reader understands that 13 menu items will be removed from Starbucks menu after today. As we discussed in class, the best headline includes numbers and more specifically, odd numbers because they seem more authentic and specific. This resonated with me because it was easy to understand and recognize that 13 items will be removed from the Starbucks menu, so I wanted to know if one of my go-to orders could possibly be a part of this list.
Also, another thing that this headline does well that makes it a “good” headline is that it conveys a sense of urgency. Urgency is one of the tactics we use in headlines to create priority and add some weight to the headline to make people see it as important and want to click it. This headline does this by using “today is the last day” and the CTA “to order”, which evokes a feeling of urgency to see what Starbucks drinks they must order today before they are gone forever. This urgency gives users a reason to click the headline because it evokes a need to hurry and order the menu items that they won’t be able to have again. As we discussed in class, “With 59% of people sharing content without reading it first, we need to make sure our headlines appeal to people who will”i, and this headline is one that will be shared by Starbucks enthusiasts (like myself) to their fellow Starbucks lover friends and family members before even reading the list of menu items. This action-oriented headline compels readers to do something immediately, which is order these menu items before it’s too late.
Lastly, this headline is great because it provides something useful in around 60 characters, which as we discussed in class is the idea headline length. In 57 characters and all lowercase letters (except for the very first letter), this headline provides value and gets the point across in an easy to digest way that is still engaging and flows nicely. The headline “Today is the last day to order these 13 Starbucks drinks” provides useful information to Starbucks fanatics that “today” is the last day to order the 13 drinks they will find within this article. As wd discussed in class, clarity is KING. The emotive yet clear and simple wording in this headline is what makes it valuable by respecting the reader and their time, which is what also resonated with me. As we discussed in class, the average person has an 8 second attention span, so we need to grab the attention of the reader with our headline immediately. We need to provide them with value in the first few seconds to grab their attention and give them something they want to learn more about, which this headline does by being clear and providing valuable information on the removal of 13 Starbucks menu items.
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