FCB Inferno Launches New Pack of Cards Where the Queen Rules

For International Women’s Day, FCB Inferno is launching a movement that questions why our gender biases have become so ingrained and normalized that they go unnoticed. Called Queen Rules, the campaign involves a pack of playing cards in which the Queen outranks the King.

The idea was inspired by an innocent question posed by a five-year-old girl about why the Queen is inferior to the King in a deck of cards. It's a question that's not asked enough and it doesn’t have a simple answer. The response reveals centuries of gendered power structures and gender bias that we have learned to accept as normal, provoking conversation about unconscious and deep-seated inequalities that women experience on a daily basis. FCB Inferno has decided to challenge all people to question and defy these patterns.

The game features a limited-edition deck of cards with the campaign logo and a #QueenRules enscribed on the clean, white packaging. The minimalist design on the cards is complemented and contrasted by the bright designs emblazoned on the Queens cards; each of which were illustrated by female artists from WomenWhoDraw, a site for female artists - especially women of colour, queer women and non-binary women - to showcase their work.

A reimagined Queen of Spades.

In addition to the decks of cards, the Queen Rules campaign will also host live events such as Queen Rules poker tournaments on International Women’s Day in various international cities, supported by Unibet. All proceeds from the events and merchandise – like the printed T-shirts and artworks – will be donated to HeForShe, a UN campaign that promotes solidarity among men to help women overcome the challenges imposed by gender inequality.

The Story of Queen Rules

In the latest iteration of the campaign, FCB has released a social experiment film through Archer's Mark in which adults teach young girls a card game with a traditional deck of cards. The adults demonstrate discomfort when they have to explain to the girls why the King outranks the Queen, and the children respond with valid and poignant comments like "So girls are never better than boys?" and "Just becuase they're different genders doesn't mean the King should win."

Queen Rules Social Experiment

The video makes a point about how these gender biases are not always taught explicitly, as demonstrated by the adults' difficulty to verbalize the reason behind them. Instead of being explained outright like the rules of a card game, gender biases are integrated into children's minds from a young age through aspects of socialization, such as the behavior of the adults around them. Queen Rules calls us to change the way we think and the way we act surrounding the power structures of gender.