Weapons of Email Marketing

Not long time ago me and my friends received an email, telling a story of Starbucks cafe chain who refused to send some of there products to US marines in Iraq as the company does not support the war.
The email was very touching and understandably wasn't targeted only at people who don't support the war, but at those who have a heart and feel a pain for their soldiers on the ground, fighting street-to-street and, house-to-house.
This incident lead to a removal of Starbucks stores from several US military bases and even further the e-mail called to boycott 227 Starbucks cafes across the UK.
This remarkable story demonstrates how powerful e-mail marketing has become and how careful the organisations should be in choosing their political and social views.
It's not only a marketing tool but a strong and personal way to push an agenda, targeting a "passive" audience who doesn't always has a chance to get on top of what's going on around the world or those who share similar views.
The e-mail it's not an end of itself- it can be forwarded to others and unite people who maybe don't know each other but share the same believes and can get united in their response.
Starbucks should be used as a prime example by other companies- "great morals" may lead to a bad publicity and loss of business.