With the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games now in full swing, supported by millions of pounds in advertising and sponsorship, you might think that the industry has turned a corner in its representation of disabled people.
Oh, how wrong you would be. Once the Games are over, you are more likely to see a pig fly in an ad than a disabled person, despite nearly a quarter of the UK population having a disability. However, a new campaign is aiming to change all that by enhancing the representation of disabled people in advertising in this country, long after the action in Paris comes to an end.
The Paralympics Legacy Initiative from Channel 4 Sales, Bupa and Purple Goat is being led by a special 50-second spot which aims to highlight the disparity between the size of the UK’s disabled population and the level of advertising which features disabled people.
It first aired during this week’s opening ceremony and will run during three key programming spots of the Games.
It opens with an on-screen pie chart that showcases the fact that 24% of people in the UK are disabled, before the slice representing this section of the population shrinks until it is almost invisible. A voiceover then points out that just 4% of ads currently feature disabled people, giving way to social media messages piling up on screen, asking “where are the disabled people in our ads?”
This is then followed by Bupa’s ‘This is health’ ad that features disabled people appearing in a realistic setting where their unique experiences are authentically shown. ‘This is health’ is inclusive and looks and feels different to every individual.
The campaign follows the launch of the 2024/25 brief for Channel 4 Sales annual Diversity in Advertising Award, with this year’s theme calling for brands to build the principle of inclusion and accessibility into their ads.
It also builds upon Channel 4’s ‘Disability Code of Portrayal’, which outlines the broadcaster’s commitment and how it aims to deliver a step change in both the quality and quantity of onscreen representation of disabled people.
The initiative is supported by an inclusive disability digital handbook with best practice tips and links to further learning for brands and marketers. In addition, the partnership offers a training programme and six in-person workshops for marketers to encourage brands to continually improve the representation of disabled people within advertising.
The campaign was conceptualised by Channel 4’s Creative Solutions team, developed with Purple Goat and produced in partnership with Sassy+, with the deal brokered by media agency Initiative.
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will be Channel 4’s most accessible Paralympics coverage to date, with its 1,300 hours of live sport, all featuring subtitles, alongside live peak time sport featuring closed audio description.
Channel 4 creative solutions leader Sophie Lloyd said: “The Paralympic Games are always a proud moment for Channel 4, where we get to stand firm in challenging our own industry as well as wider society to be bold in empowering disabled communities. Working with partners like Bupa and Purple Goat, who share our values, underlines our commitment to increasing disabled representation in advertising, for the Paralympic Games and beyond.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, it is fair to say that adland has at least tackled some of its “male, pale and stale” issues, with more and more ads representative of the nation’s different cultures, so why disabled people are still getting the cold shoulder is anyone’s guess.
And while this may not be the most creative of campaigns, hopefully it will make clients and their agencies wake up to the facts. After all, a barrage of ads every four years when the Paralympics is on TV is simply not good enough.
Decision Marketing Adometer: A “get on with it” 10 out of 10
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