The ‘Every Name’s a Story’ spot from Starbucks follows a young trans man, James, as he navigates his tense relationship with the name he was given at birth. Viewers see James’ reaction to a series of setbacks around his former name – the distress of receiving packages addressed to ‘Jemma’, or being introduced as ‘Jemma’ by his father – before a Starbucks barista finally acknowledges his true identity by writing ‘James’ on his cup.

The ad won Channel 4’s Diversity Fund, and was lauded by Sarah Garrett MBE, British LGBT Awards founder, for taking a ”progressive and empowering approach to a gender-expansive storyline at a time when the media is rife with anti-trans rhetoric.” The LGBTQ+ community remains underrepresented in advertising, with research showing that only 0.3% of adverts feature transgender people. The ad shows that Starbucks takes this social deficit seriously and is committed to using its resources for positive change – the brand also used the campaign to raise money for the UK charity Mermaids, which supports gender-diverse young people.

With 42% of Britons saying a brand’s support for environmental, social, or political causes is an important factor in their purchase decision, brands that act as purposeful changemakers are winning hearts, while others – Budweiser, for example – have received backlash for superficial engagement with social issues. People are increasingly holding companies to account if they don't follow through with the causes they claim to back. Brands wanting to cement long-term loyalty would do well to visibly act on their promises by wearing their values on their sleeve both in external communications and internal culture.

Charlotte Brohier is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8. With a background in brand strategy and journalism, she has written for The Times, Refinery29, and the Just Opened Group. Passionate about art history and anthropology, in her spare time she can be found gallery-hopping, perusing vintage markets, or having tea parties on Hampstead Heath.