By Celeste Laube and Quinlan Carnegie
Description of Case Study
In 2020, Starbucks launched a campaign in connection with the UK Charity Mermaids. This campaign focused on different trans people’s real-life experiences and connected this with the act of saying your name at Starbucks. Starbucks created advertisements that connected the act of saying your name at the coffee shop, to the trans experience of changing your name. According to Starbucks, their shop is a place you can be yourself. This campaign included five different vignettes of trans people. They also launched a fictional video called Every Name’s a Story[1] in connection with this campaign.
Ethical Concerns
In the video #whatsyourname campaign video titled Every Name’s a Story, we can see a direct connection to scholar Alexandre Baril’s concept of the “confessing cis-tem.” According to Baril, we live in a society that “pushes trans* people to show their naked bodies and souls to satisfy the public’s insatiable curiosity for every detail of their transition.”[2]
I believe the Every Name’s a Story video by Starbucks subverts the confessing cis-tem. As a viewer of the video, I can see that instead of feeling trapped within the heteronormative society, James can feel like themselves when they go to Starbucks. Starbucks is clever here, linking its business to that of trans inclusion. This video showcases how corporations can subvert the confessing cis-tem within their brand identity.
The other video that I want to analyze is Cairo’s story for the #whatsyourname campaign.[3] In this video, instead of a fictionalized narrative piece, we get a real-life story of a trans person. Cairo says that they tested their name at Starbucks, linking Starbucks to trans acceptance.
In the video, Cairo says that they have had many battles in their life — “not just because of their trans identity.”[4]This may refer to other axes of oppression that Cairo faces as an individual; however, in the video from Starbucks, we only get a look into Cairo’s trans identity, not any other possible intersectional identities that Cairo has. Thus, the Starbucks video plays into scholar Doug Meyer’s theory, outlined in his article, “An Intersectional Analysis of LGBTQ Media Coverage,” in which he writes that being LGBT+ is the predominant axis of inequality presented in the mainstream media.[5]
The issue of intersectionality that I explore is something that Starbucks could utilize in their next campaign, but it may not be possible because after all, Starbucks is a for-profit company. Again, Starbucks is doing a great job in this video of showcasing that their cafes are the only place where trans people can truly feel accepted. Essentially, Starbucks is linking their brand image to that of trans rights, and Cairo’s story is a critical part of that linkage.
Another important part of Cairo’s video that should be analyzed is the fact that the video shares intimate details about Cairo’s life and identity. But this video will be on the internet forever. This relates to Baril’s idea of informed ongoing consent, and the fact that Cairo’s image will now forever be associated with that of Starbucks. I think it is important to question the consent model used in this video. In Baril’s work, he wants us to “develop critical perspectives on understandings of consent,”[6] and I think that this video allows us to understand why informed consent in journalism and communications is so important. Consumers of media must question the ways marketing campaigns use the personal stories of oppressed individuals for their own profit.
Overall, the #whatsyourname campaign showcases the ways that a multibillion-dollar corporation can connect its brand identity to that of a social issue. It also showcases the way that a brand can use their platform for good, and represent people who rarely get a chance to tell their story. Although it may be done for profit, I believe that Starbucks has positively portrayed the transgender community throughout this campaign.
Discussion Questions:
- Does the video with James for Starbucks #whatsyourname campaign align or subvert Baril’s idea of the confessing cis-tem?
- There is a lack of intersectionality in the media when it comes to LGBT+ issues. Does Cairo’s video from Starbucks UK showcase intersectionality? Should Starbucks be focused on intersectionality within their campaigns?
- How could Starbucks employ a model of informed and ongoing consent for the trans individuals showcased in their campaign? Is this even possible given the ways that images live forever online?
- What are the ways in which the #whatsyourname campaign empowers trans individuals? Is it ethical for Starbucks to empower trans individuals, even though they are a multibillion-dollar corporation?
Bibliography
Baril, Alexandre. “Confessing Society, Confessing Cis Tem: Rethinking Consent through Intimate Images of Trans* People in the Media.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 39, no. 2 (2018): 1–25.
Meyer, Doug. “An Intersectional Analysis of LGBTQ Online Media Coverage of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting Victims.” Journal of Homosexuality 67, no. 10 (2020): 1343–66.
Walters, Barbara. “Transgender at 11: Listening to Jazz Jennings | 20/20 | ABC News.” ABC News. 2013. Video, 7:53.
Footnotes
[1] Starbucks UK, “Starbucks LGBT+ Channel 4 Diversity Award 2019 | Every Name’s a Story (Extended Version),” Starbucks, 2020, video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcSP1r9eCWw&t=4s&ab_channel=StarbucksUK.Starbucks UK.
[2] Baril, “Confessing Society, Confessing Cis Tem: Rethinking Consent through Intimate Images of Trans* People in the Media,” 4.
[3] Starbucks UK, “Cairo’s Story | Starbucks LGBT+ Channel 4 | Every Name’s a Story,” Starbucks, 2020, video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T9r3znkr_0&t=15s&ab_channel=StarbucksUK.
[4] Starbucks UK, “Cairo’s Story | Starbucks LGBT+ Channel 4 | Every Name’s a Story,” Starbucks, 2020, video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T9r3znkr_0&t=15s&ab_channel=StarbucksUK.
[5] Doug Meyer, “An Intersectional Analysis of LGBTQ Online Media Coverage of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting Victims,” Journal of Homosexuality 67, no. 10 (2020): 1346.
[6] Baril, “Confessing Society, Confessing Cis Tem: Rethinking Consent through Intimate Images of Trans* People in the Media,” 3.