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Trans People Called by Their Names in Starbucks Ad Campaign

"Starbucks welcomes you, whoever you are and whomever you want to be."

Everybody deserves to have their name butchered by a barista.

Starbucks U.K. has released an ad for its new #whatsyourname campaign that celebrates the moment a transgender person is finally called by their chosen name.

The commercial shows a young trans man getting repeatedly deadnamed—by his doctor, a delivery man, his dad. But when he orders a drink at Starbucks, the barista calls out his preferred name, James, which is also written on his cup. Drink in all the feels!

"Starbucks welcomes you, whoever you are and whomever you want to be," reads a slogan for the #whatsyourname campaign ad, which has earned Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising Award.

"Taking a customer’s name, writing it on a cup and calling it out is a symbol of our warm welcome," a Starbucks U.K. representative writes in a statement. "It is part of the Starbucks Experience and creates a moment of connection between our baristas and customers."

"Starbucks #whatsyourname campaign celebrates this signature act and the significance it can have for some transgender and gender diverse people as they use their new name in public."

The campaign, created in partnership with creative agency Iris, was inspired by real experiences of transitioning Starbucks customers. "We discovered that they found Starbucks stores to be a safe space, where their new name was accepted, and they could be recognised as who they are."

"When I first said my name to the barista, it felt so liberating," Sonja Howells tells BBC. "The cup with my name on was like a badge of honour—it was a symbol that I finally knew who I was."

"This is a celebration of trans people, of all ages, that have found Starbucks stores to be a safe space to trial their new name and be recognised as who they really are," adds Starbucks general manager Alex Rayner.

As part of the #whatsyourname campaign, the Starbucks “Moving Portraits” video series asks a group of trans people how they chose their true names.

Starbucks U.K. has also partnered with gender-variant youth charity Mermaids in an effort to raise at least £100,000 for their helpline through the sale of limited-edition mermaid cookies.

Watch more #whatsyourname videos below.

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