The Creative Use of Names Guide helps you unlock emotional storytelling, cultural insight, and viral punchlines—all by focusing on the names people carry, adopt or share. Whether it’s an insult reclaimed or a moniker misinterpreted, names become your most powerful creative shortcut.
What’s Inside
- 4 campaign territories using names as triggers for empathy, mischief, curiosity or pride
- Campaigns from Monica Lewinsky, Citi, Burger King, Surreal, Oreo, LG, adidas and more
- GPT prompts to help you mine names for satire, sentiment or story
- A cheat sheet for turning identity into earned media and cultural heat
Use it when your idea needs heart, humanity—or a little bit of headline-making chaos.
Sneak Peek: Reclaimed Names
Brief: Turn shame into pride.
Monica Lewinsky’s #DefyTheName campaign invited people to share the names they were bullied with—starting with herself. By flipping the pain of mockery into a badge of solidarity, the campaign created emotional resonance and cultural momentum. Other brands flipped name-based stigma too:
- Citi’s “Now That You See Me” helped trans and non-binary customers update their name on credit cards—a small, powerful signal of respect.
- Burger King’s “We Are Parrilla” rewarded people mocked for their grill-themed surname with free burgers for life.
- Runner 321 by adidas reserved a race number for Chris Nikic, the first runner with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman, making a point through powerful naming.
Each one proved that the right name can change the conversation.
Part of Creative Tactics GPT pack
