VMLY&R Brazil: Starbucks I Am

In Brazil, trans people often suffer prejudice when they don’t have their new names on official documents. The process for legally changing names is expensive and bureaucratic, and the registry offices where it happens are intimidating environments for this community.

At Starbucks, anyone who orders a drink at the counter has their name respected and written on the cup without question.

So, VMLY&R decided to invite trans people to have their names legally changed in a place where they are always welcome. The agency transformed a local Starbucks into a registry office, and participants were able to leave the store with official documents in their new names – free of charge.

The result was a seven-times increase in daily legal name changes for the city of São Paulo.