Well, I told you I like the familiar Starbucks logo. Well, I liked it so much that I wrote to Starbucks to plead for its life. Turns out it's only a temporary logo change, and that the simpler logo will return on everything but the Pike's Place Roast coffee.
Also, not that this isn't just any mermaid - Starbucks refers to her as a Siren.
I'm glad my familiar Siren is here to stay.
-Joe-

Here's the text of their e-mail:

Hello Joe,

Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company. We appreciate your feedback about the "classic" siren logo.

The brown logo currently appearing on cups in our U.S. company-operated locations is a temporary change, but will be used for Pike Place RoastT marketing and packaging.

Bringing back this version of the original logo is a great way to celebrate our heritage and bring a little piece of Seattle to our stores across the country. We chose to alter our original logo based on customer feedback received during our 35th anniversary promotion.