A Campaign Built Around a Simple Store Ritual
Starbucks built the “What’s Your Name” campaign around one of its most recognizable everyday practices: asking customers for their name and writing it on a cup.1, 2 The brand reframed this routine gesture as a meaningful moment of human connection between baristas and customers.
The campaign positioned this interaction as part of the broader Starbucks experience, where stores functioned as welcoming “third places” designed to foster inclusion and community.2
Focus on Identity and Recognition
At the center of the campaign was the experience of transgender and gender-diverse individuals using their chosen names in public.2 Starbucks highlighted how something as simple as a correctly used name could represent recognition, dignity, and acceptance.
The narrative drew from real-life experiences, showing how some customers had found Starbucks stores to be safe environments where their identity was respected.2
Source: Starbucks UK Youtube
Storytelling Through Real People
The campaign used documentary-style storytelling and short films featuring real individuals navigating name changes and identity transitions.3, 4 These stories focused on personal journeys rather than product messaging, emphasizing emotional authenticity over traditional advertising formats.
One of the central narratives followed a transgender teenager who experienced repeated misnaming in daily life but found affirmation when using their chosen name in a Starbucks store.1, 3
The Name as a Symbol of Inclusion
The act of writing a name on a cup became a symbolic gesture representing more than order identification. It was framed as a moment of acknowledgment where individuals were seen as they identified themselves, not as others labeled them.
This framing allowed Starbucks to connect a routine operational detail to broader social themes of identity, belonging, and respect.
Campaign Impact and Broader Message
Beyond storytelling, the campaign also supported LGBTQ+ initiatives and partnered with charitable organizations to extend its impact beyond advertising.3
Overall, “What’s Your Name” repositioned Starbucks as a brand centered on inclusion and human connection, using a small everyday interaction to communicate a larger message about acceptance and identity.
Source: Starbucks UK Youtube
Written with AI assistance, edited by a human. Find out more about our Use of AI.
1. Creative Review, Megan Williams, "Starbucks unveils winning ad for Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising award", 3 February 2020, for Starbucks being known for writing customers’ names on cups, which the #whatsyourname film by Iris uses as its setting, and for James, a transgender man, enduring his birth name at GP appointments, in his post and at family occasions before choosing his name in a Starbucks store. https://www.creativereview.co.uk/starbucks-diversity-advertising-award/
2. Channel 4 Sales, "Channel 4 debuts the winner of its Diversity in Advertising Award with Starbucks ground-breaking #whatsyourname advert", undated release for the advert’s Channel 4 debut in February 2020, for the film being about the moment transgender and gender diverse people use their new name in public, for it being inspired by real life experiences of individuals who find Starbucks stores to be a safe space where their new names are accepted, and for the words of Alex Rayner, General Manager, Retail UK, Starbucks, on creating a warm and welcoming ‘Third Place’ where members of the community can gather and on writing a customer’s name on a cup and calling it out as a symbol of this warm welcome. https://4sales.com/node/1081
3. Campaign, Brittaney Kiefer, "Starbucks captures life-altering moment of transgender person trialling new name", 31 January 2020, for the film by Iris following James, a transgender man repeatedly called by his birth name, Jemma, until he uses his real name in public for the first time when ordering at Starbucks, for the moving portraits of transgender people explaining the stories behind their names, run across outdoor, digital, video on demand and in store, and for the partnership with Mermaids, the charity supporting gender-diverse children, young people and their families, with limited edition mermaid cookies in more than 975 stores raising at least £100,000 towards its helpline. https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/starbucks-captures-life-altering-moment-transgender-person-trialling-new-name/1672463
4. Iris, "#WhatsYourName", agency case study, undated, for the campaign comprising the 60 second James film and a series of Moving Portraits in which real trans people share the stories behind their chosen names. https://iris-worldwide.com/work/whatsyourname
