Perhaps by and large then, yes, but – fortunately – my own experience with coffee way back when was markedly different. Our family loved strong percolated coffee (almost always the Café Bustelo brand). Never instant (except when I got to uni when I started (desperately) experimenting with a few instant coffee brands my own); all the instants were pure crap (sometimes coffee-ish smell; always complete dud taste-wise). Our familys’ home-brewed coffee was excellent, but the best I ever had was in my high school years and part-timed for awhile at the Waldorf Astoria, schlepping Persian rugs at a weekend auction there (in their so-called Green Room). One of the chefs there took a liking to me and the other part-timers there, and he occasionally served us (on the sly) succulent roast chicken, nice pastries… and the greatest brewed coffee I’ve ever had. Again – just my single data point experience – percolated good… instant bad! 
Was is CDM or Community or something else?
Just curious. My family drank Community but I usually see people bring back CDM from vacation.
I always hated all coffee even though I’m from a culture that gives toddlers “coffee milk” which is a spoon of coffee in a glass of milk. So I have no personal opinions on brand.
I seem to recall small disclaimers at the bottom of these ads saying their dinner meals were comped. Maybe they added them later on.
Strong is a very important aspect here! Coffee back then was frequently terrible and percolated coffee was notoriously bad because most people didn’t use enough coffee, and a percolator would overbrew it, making it acidic and muddy. Using a good amount of strong coffee like Bustelo is a great way to get good results out of a percolator.
Starbucks likes to make a big deal out of bringing European coffee to America and their French roasts and stuff, but their big innovation was simply realizing that Americans could love really strong coffee, instead of equating “mild” with “smooth”.
Guys, it’s an advert and never actually happened.
here’s an alternate link
It was Folgers???
Arguably now, with a Starbucks on what seems like every corner, there is more shit coffee on the market than at any time in human history.
There is no way in hell Arnaud’s ever served folgers without the customer being in on it. Nor is there any way that their customers couldn’t tell the difference. NOLA has always taken its coffee seriously, which is why starbucks has always gotten its ass kicked by the local coffee chains
It was an actual supermarket store (A&P) brand chicory/coffee blend.
Only instant coffee worth a damn, UCC from Japan
Its still awful in comparison to drip coffee, but good in a pinch
PCP?
10 demerits for not going with the obvious joke of, “Folger’s Crystal Meth”
We’re paying the highest price for shit coffee. Starbucks’ roast is so dark and bitter that people mix a quart of cream into it in order to drink it.
Its there because that’s what people think they want. Most people are inclined to think that dark roasts = stronger coffee buzz which is not true it’s just a stronger (bitter) taste. If anything the roasting process makes the beans less caffeinated.
Their other roasts are pretty decent, though their really good ones are typically not served. You have to request them to make you a pour over with specific beans, which is inconvenient for everyone involved. Somewhat of a defense of Starbucks but ultimately smaller places will have much better coffee as you know 
Starbucks is better than 7-Eleven, but thrice the price. 7-Eleven is just normal drip coffee and when I worked there only the third shift employees ever bothered to clean the carafes. And when I worked there I don’t recall cleaning any part of the machine other than the glass carafe, so there was probably always a fair amount of stale coffee scale in the mix.
What I’ve noticed is that people only rarely order a black house coffee at Starbucks. And almost never a plain shot of espresso. I think without lots of sugar most people find their coffee unpalatable.
I’d recommend to anyone who hasn’t tried a plain cup of coffee to try it and see if they even like coffee.
My coffee tastes have changed, i used to be a barista and i always got the more sugary “fancy” drinks but now on the odd time i do go i tend to get a light or medium roast with a shot of espresso 
its not great coffee but it’s ok.
There’s nothing wrong with liking what you like. I do get frustrated when something is marketed as a premium product when it’s only very average.
That’s the root of the old joke about people who like coffee with their cream and sugar. Based on the various flavors they put in coffee now, the number of people who would drink it plain is probably low. I call that “camp coffee,” because sugar isn’t something we’d normally take along while roughing it or away from home due to an emergency.
