From a name on a cup to a powerful act of recognition: How Starbucks re-ignited itself as a symbol of progress

Starbucks, a chain of coffee houses, launched a campaign in the UK to raise awareness and embrace one of society's most marginalised groups – the transgender community.

Campaign details

Brand: StarbucksAgency: Iris London

Executive summary

"We're not in the coffee business serving people, we're in the people business serving coffee"

- Howard Schultz, Starbucks Founder

This is the story of real people finding acceptance, perhaps for the very first time. A story of a 'big, faceless' giant called Starbucks who empathised and championed inclusion by simply letting people be themselves.

Where Starbucks was once the hip, coffee brand for cool city-dwellers, its growth meant that it had also become pegged by some as just another cold corporate. A shame, as Starbucks genuinely acted on...

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