Mastercard gives NYC's Gay Street an inclusive update with a sign featuring a litany of identities

Brand updated an iconic LGBTQ location alongside its initiative to help transgender customers put chosen names on credit cards

Published On
Jun 26, 2019

Editor's Pick

The Stonewall Inn, on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, became the epicenter of the modern gay rights movement 50 years ago, when riots broke out after years of police raids. Just a block and a half away, the road intersects with Gay Street, a happy coincidence that results in a popular and photogenic street sign.

But the fight for civil rights has expanded beyond just gays and lesbians over the decades, and “Gay Street” might not fully encompass the range of identities involved in the movement. A new initiative from Mastercard attempts to rectify that.

In a partnership with New York City’s Human Rights Commission, the brand and its agency McCann XBC commissioned additional street signs from the same company that builds official signs for the city to transform Gay Street into "Acceptances Street." In descending order below the “Gay St” sign now hangs a fittingly rainbow-colored litany of identities: Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Nonbinary, Pansexual and Two Spirit. Beneath it all, a black “+” sign acknowledges that there are still others not included in the list above.

In addition to a series of signs, Mastercard has undertaken a project to help people whose identities may not match the ones they were assigned at birth use credit cards more easily. The process of a legal name change can be both difficult and expensive, and not everyone has the means or the opportunity to petition the courts. That means presenting a credit card can be an uncomfortable, even potentially dangerous situation for many people.

Mastercard’s “True Name” project aims to find a secure, non-invasive way to let people choose names other than their legal ones to appear on credit and debit cards, and it is currently working with the city’s Human Rights Commission to figure out the details.

 

Credits

Date
Jun 26, 2019
Client :
MasterCard
Agency :
McCann XBC
EVP Global Executive Creative Director :
Pierre Lipton
Global Creative Director :
Adrian Botan
EVP Executive Creative Director :
Pete Jones
EVP Executive Creative Director :
Joel Rodriguez
VP Creative Director :
Carlos Wigle
VP Creative Director :
Evan Benedetto
Art Director :
Antonia Orol-Berlinger
Senior Copywriter :
Noah Benezra
Copywriter :
Morgan Mack
Associate Creative Director :
Lucas Crigle
Junior Art Director :
Mikayla Lapierre
Copywriter :
Hope Nardini
Chief Production Officer :
Nathy Aviram
SVP Executive Producer :
Judi Nierman
SVP Executive Producer Innovation :
Christine Lane
Senior Integrated Producer :
Dagmar Wong
Producer :
Liz O'Connor
Senior Integrated Producer :
Amber Briscoe
Managing Director :
Veronica Bertran
VP Account Director :
Shelley Bowcher
Account Supervisor :
Mariano Pintor
EVP Global Strategy Director :
Oriol Bombi
SVP Group Strategy Director :
Dan Cohn
Senior Strategist :
Rosalind Mowitt
Strategist :
Nina Kossoff
VP Social Strategy Director :
Danielle Karr
Social Strategist :
Kristen Levy
Content Creator :
Eric Perini
Content Creator :
Brett Berman
Content Creator :
Aude Cuenod
Chief Comms Officer :
Jeremy Miller
Sign Production Company :
Traction Creative
Photographer :
John Clang
Craft Post Producer :
Shannon Botts
Craft Colorist :
Benny Karas
Craft Audio Mixer :
Jon Smith
Craft Editor :
Ilya Katsap
Craft Editor :
Deb McMurtrey
Craft Assistant Editor :
Christine Doughty
Craft Editor :
Ted Maniatakos
Craft SVP Head of Content NA :
Adam Hirsch
Craft Executive Producer :
Ray Klonsky
Craft Line Producer :
Amalia Bradstreet
Director of Photography :
Dave Waldron
Camera Operator :
Carrie Cheek
1st AC :
Kimberlee Venable
2nd AC :
Georgia Krause
Gaffer :
Ray Richards
Key Grip :
Scott Ray
Sound Mixer :
Tyler Postiglione
Sound Mixer :
Tim Race
Hair/Make-Up Artist :
Jacqueline Helene
Executive Vice President, North America Marketing & Communications :
Cheryl Guerin
Senior Vice President, North America Communications :
Jim Issokson
Senior Vice President, North America Consumer Marketing & Sponsorships :
Seema Chibber
Vice President, North America Communications :
Sarah Ely
Director, North America Consumer Marketing :
Anthony DeRojas
Director, North America Digital & Social Marketing :
Gregg Weiss
Director, North America Media Planning :
Christine Lustig
Manager, North America Consumer Marketing :
Kellen Burger
Manager, North America Media Planning :
Tara McKenna
Senior Specialist, North America Sponsorships :
Marisa Bianchi
Senior Specialist, North America Communications :
Margaret Curran
Specialist, North America Digital & Social Communications :
Chanelle Lowe
Specialist, North America Communications :
Harshana Badlani

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