Who: Egale with Taxi for strategy and creative, Fort York VFX for animation, School Editing for video editing, and SNDWRx for audio.

What: “#DealThemIn,” a campaign built around a non-binary deck of playing cards—a gesture to “discard” traditional gender norms by replacing the traditional male/female face cards with a wide selection of diverse faces.

When & Where: Released to coincide with International Non-Binary Day (July 14), the campaign is being pushed on social with support from influencers in the non-binary community.

Why: Egale advocates for a world free of hatred and bias, where everyone can achieve their full potential regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. But according to Egale, 39% of 2SLGBTQI Canadians feel under-represented in media.

While playing cards date back centuries, they became particularly popular—and therefore culturally relevant—among young people during the pandemic. “[T]he goal of this campaign is to start a conversation beyond the card table around how all parts of our culture can better represent all people,” said Egale’s executive director Helen Kennedy in a release.

How: Static and video posts show the deck of cards with a cast of different faces and characters of any gender to replace the familiar kings and queens on face cards, along with the message: “It’s time the world follows suit.”

The creative pushes toward the DealThemIn.com website, which showcases the cards and provides information about how to get a deck and donate to 2SLGBTQI communities. Influencers including Eric Radford, Priyanka, and Brooke Lyn are also sharing the cards and the website on their own social feeds.

And we quote: “From film adapts to celebrity takeovers, playing cards have been used countless times in today’s era to represent our culture. But they’ve always included out-dated gender constructs that exclude so many people. #DealThemIn turns playing cards into a catalyst for cultural change.” — Alexis Bronstorph, global co-CCO, Taxi