Cumberland Farms makes a splash with '$99' coffee

A Cumberland Farms location in Massachusetts displayed a promotional sign advertising cups of coffee for $99, leading to online reactions and speculation about inflation and AI involvement. Commenters questioned the poster’s details, including the appearance of iced coffee steaming, inconsistent camera angles between cups, and other odd elements such as a mint leaf in the coffee beans and an open wallet. Some users also criticized the promotion wording, interpreting it as requiring a 24-hour wait after fuel purchase to access the $99 special, and they questioned the low minimum fuel purchase amount. Cumberland Farms did not immediately clarify the pricing or whether AI created the ad.

"A visitor to a Massachusetts Cumberland Farms did a double-take this week when a sign advertised cups of coffee for $99, sparking an online debate over whether inflation had finally gone feral or, possibly, an AI bot had a role in creating the poster. "Inflation is getting out of hand," wrote one Reddit user. Many questioned whether AI was the creator, as, upon closer inspection, it appeared the iced coffee was steaming, and even though both cups sat on the same plane, one looked as if it were being photographed from above, while the other was head-on."

"AI photo generators are known for making quirky mistakes in images, often confusing punctuation symbols or misspelling common words. But even beyond the dollar-sign mistake on the Cumby ad, other commenters took issue with the mint leaf in the coffee beans, and the clearly open wallet with its button clasped. Others complained about the wording of the promotion itself: Even if you wanted the "$99" special, some commenters took the ad to mean you could only do so after waiting 24 hours after your purchase of fuel."

"They also questioned the very low minimum fuel purchase of $3.49, which at today's prices would amount to about .77 gallons. "AI is just getting ahead on making ads for the future when a coffee costs $99," another person wrote. "This is for 2027." Cumberland Farms did not immediately return a request for comment to clarify that the ad was for 99-cent coffee or to discuss whether AI made it."

Read at Boston.com