TBWA\Chiat\Day NY Hopes its Latest Project Never Launches

Grounded in creativity, TBWA\Chiat\Day NY has a foundational belief in Allyship and Equality. Recently, a Nashville based employee brought the dehumanising, degrading, and transphobic Bill 1182 to the agency’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leads attention. This bill requires Tennessee businesses to add ‘warning’ signs to multi-stall bathrooms if they allow Transgender people to use the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. 

It would impact almost every public space in Tennessee.

TBWA\Chiat\Day saw an opportunity to use creativity as a force for good, helping raise awareness and encourage action. The law is clear about the specifics and locations of the signs, however does not include guidance for what surrounds them.

The agency mobilised a team for the project to create 22 signs including a variety of supportive messages surrounding the mandatory copy. Not only were the signs going to be placed around TBWA’s Nashville office, they were also to be made available to any business in Tennessee for free.

The messages range from advocating for Transgender rights, encouraging people to reach out to their lawmakers, and explaining the potential negative revenue impact on the state.

Thankfully, Judge Aleta A. Trauger of the US The District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee recently granted a preliminary injunction against the law while litigation proceeds. But the story isn’t over - this is only the beginning of a long road to equality. 

The signs don't have any practical use right now, and we hope they never will. But it will require continued community support.