TV advertising remains one of the most effective and popular marketing mediums. Brands, products and services can reach large and engaged audiences by designing authentic and honest content and creating emotional connections with consumers. Having TV adverts featuring disabled people is a great way to show inclusion and diversity on television. It also highlights that disabled people should have equal access to these products and services and that we can thrive and achieve in life like everybody else.
Here, we share 11 TV adverts featuring disabled people, including Paralympians, broadcasters, actors and disability activists. (Note: not all of the below videos have audio description but should be able to understand most of them with the dialogue and additional information in the article).
1. Hannah Cockroft – Müllerlight “Have it All”
Hannah Cockroft OBE is a World, European and Paralympic wheelchair racing champion, with her most recent success at the Para Athletics World Championships in Paris, winning gold in the T34 100m in July 2023.
Hannah suffered two cardiac arrests after birth, which left her with permanent damage in numerous areas of her brain, resulting in weak hips, deformed feet and legs and mobility problems and affecting the fine motor skills in her hands.
Away from her sport, Hannah has also made a few TV appearances including winning the Sport Relief special of Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, The Great British Bake Off, The Crystal Maze and most recently presenting on BT Sport’s coverage of the Disability Football FA Cup Finals.
In 2021, ahead of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Hannah was part of the cast in Müllerlight’s TV campaign Have It All, which aims to prioritise female empowerment and is a celebration of the joys of indulgence.
In Hannah’s advert, we see her sat at a table, in a period costume, eating a toffee flavoured Müllerlight dessert. What is great about this advert is that there no visible sign or mention that Hannah is in a wheelchair. She is simply representing British athletics as a female athlete.
As well as Hannah Cockroft, the adverts star world champion heptathlete and Müllerlight brand ambassador, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and European middle-distance running champion Laura Muir.
In addition to featuring these female athletes in its adverts, Müller – which has been a proud partner of British Athletics and Athletics Ireland since 2016 – has been offering its support to individual athletes. The brand created power-track racing facilities for Hannah and helped Katarina launch a training academy for budding athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds.
2. Lucy Edwards – Pantene Miracles Silky and Glowing Shampoo and Conditioner
Lucy Edwards is a broadcaster, content creator and disability activist, who lives with a rare genetic eye condition called Incontinentia Pigmenti. This means she has no vision except some light perception, although this is diminishing.
Lucy recently got married and as part of the ceremony, she got her fiancé and guests to wear blindfolds so they could all experience what Lucy’s level of sight on her wedding day.
In this advert, which premiered in February 2022, Pantene and Lucy Edwards launch the Miracles Silky and Glowing Shampoo and Conditioner. The Pantene Silky and Glowing collection contains shampoo, conditioner, a purple shampoo and a hair mask.
In this Pantene ad, Lucy has vibrant red hair, she is wearing a cream dress and standing in front of a microphone.
The announcement that Lucy will be partnering with Pantene came as the brand launched a social code of conduct, with the intention of creating a benchmark to ensure social content like beauty tutorials are accessible for all.
Pantene’s goal is also to revolutionise its packaging in-store to incorporate NaviLens technology and bolster its existing ties with RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People).
3. Genevieve Barr & Lara Steward – Maltesers – The Light Side of Disability (Sign Language)
Genevieve Barr, is a deaf actor, best known for playing roles in The Accident, The Silence, TFades, Call the Midwife and Shameless. She also co-wrote Then Barbara Met Alan, the factual drama about the disability rights movement in 1990s Britain.
Lara Steward is a profoundly deaf actor who has had roles in The Strays, All Creatures Great and Small, The Last Kingdom and The Silence.
This advert is believed to be the first ever to use sign language as part of a campaign to promote diversity as it kicked off coverage of the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016.
The 30-second ad, which initially did not air with subtitles, leaving most viewers unable to understand the commercial, was one of three created by chocolate maker Mars to promote its Maltesers brand and champion diversity.
Mars was the winner of a competition held by Channel 4, called Superhumans Wanted, offering £1m in free TV ad space to the ad agency, advertiser, organisation or production company submitting the strongest adverts featuring disabled people.
The two deaf women tell a joke about a dog that eats a hearing aid using British Sign Language and no subtitles. Some subsequent airings of the ad does feature subtitles so viewers can get in on the disability joke.
4. Alfie Hewett & Gordon Reid – Feel the Connection | Vodafone UK
Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid are multiple British wheelchair tennis champions, competing in numerous single and double competitions. Their most recent success was winning the doubles match at Wimbledon and Alfie won his fourth consecutive singles win against Gordon in the US Open.
Ahead of this year’s Wimbledon, Alfie and Gordon featured in separate adverts for Vodafone, in which they show clips of them training and playing tennis and their mums questioning how best to support, praise and congratulate their sons’ achievements as a disabled athlete.
Gordon Reid’s advert is available to watch on Youtube too.
5. Faster brings us closer – Virgin Media
This Virgin Media advert is a gaming love story about two people, Jade and Jake, who meet each other on an online game and build a close relationship.
It begins with Jake playing a video game in which his character’s wheelchair transforms into a futuristic aircraft.
While playing the game, he gets defeated by Jade’s avatar, before he asks if she wants to team up and the relationship begins, eventually leading to a slightly nervous video call. All this online gaming and video calling in the advert are of course possible thanks to Virgin Media’s broadband products.
This is another great example of disability representation in the fact Jake’s disability has nothing to do with the advert. It’s just simply saying there are 14 million disabled people in the UK and should have equal access to products and services and opportunities to appear in the media.
6. Amazon Alexa Morning Ritual
This Amazon Echo advert, created in partnership with RNIB, features a blind woman and her guide dog, showing how she uses Alexa to check the time and the weather forecast. Amazon cast a blind actor and her co-star is her own guide dog.
At the start of this advert, we are initially unaware the woman is blind, which shows disabled people can have normal, independent lives. Plus, the advert highlights the benefits assistive technology like Alexa can have on disabled people’s lives.
7. Me, My Autism & I – Vanish
This Vanish advert, created by Havas London with support from charity Ambitious about Autism and shot by Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper, tells the story of one autistic girl and the visceral importance of her hoodie.
The film follows a day in the life of 15-year-old autistic girl Ash – cast alongside her real family and best friends – and her elemental relationship with her favourite hoodie, which was central to the bespoke script. An authentic and evocative portrayal of being autistic, it reflects the fact the condition can be challenging but also empowering. While showing that autistic people do experience shutdowns, it also highlights positive aspects such as stimming, which is used as a coping mechanism, and simultaneously showcases Ash’s warmth, talent, friendship and humour.
The advert aims to nurture a conversation to broaden public understanding of autism – particularly in girls, who are three times less likely to receive a diagnosis than boys. Ash was only diagnosed with autism aged 14.
As a brand, Vanish is committed to helping clothes last longer – and for most autistic people, familiar and consistent clothing can help with sensory regulation and provide a source of comfort.
8. McCain and Family Fund: Little Moments
Food brand McCain has partnered with the charity Family Fund to support families with disabled and seriously ill children. It provides grants for essential family items such as kitchen appliances, clothing, bedding or furniture, specialist play equipment or adapted toys.
McCain has created a series of adverts, showing disabled children share their favourite moments with their families. Stories they share include enjoying walks, playing games, drawing and dancing.
9. Putting Talent First – Evenbreak
Evenbreak – an inclusive jobs board for disabled candidates – featured in an advert for Channel 4, which first aired during Rosie Jones’ Ableism Documentary.
Three employees of Evenbreak star in the advert to show real people with disabilities. Rachael Salt, COO, is deaf, Mahomed Khatri, Head of Employer Engagement, is blind and stars in the advert with his guide dog Henley. And finally, Rele Laguda, Account Manager, has a spinal injury and is in a wheelchair. The advert is designed to promote disabled candidates as premium candidates.
10. The Cost of Breathing Crisis – Scope
Scope is one of UK’s leading charities supporting disabled people across the country and since the start of the cost of living crisis, its support has been more vital than ever.
Life costs more for disabled people and their families. Research has found that the expense of life saving and specialist equipment contributes to an average extra cost of £975 per month for disabled households and these extra costs are too often overlooked by society.
This advert, created with ITV, features six disabled actors with a range of impairments and health conditions, highlighting the difficulties disabled people are facing during the cost of living crisis.
We see them alongside the essential electronic equipment that they need to live their daily lives. We see that some of this equipment is unplugged and out of use. The advert ends in the Scope call centre where a Scope helpline adviser is answering a call. The advert is based on the experiences that thousands of disabled people have shared with Scope.
Nobody should face the anxiety of not knowing whether they can afford to breathe, speak or get out of bed. Scope wants disabled people and their families to know that they are not alone. Scope is here to help.
11. Brothers – Guide Dogs
This TV advert for the charity Guide Dogs tells a very relatable story of two brothers, Max and Jake, growing up together. We witness their close bond as they play jokes on one another when they are younger, but their playful sibling rivalry hangs in the balance when Max develops sight loss. Through the support of Guide Dogs services, enabling Max to continue to live actively, independently and well, we see the brother’s fun-loving relationship is every bit as strong in adulthood.
The grown-up Max is played by Josh Feehan who lives with a visual impairment himself and has a guide dog named Ringo. The younger Max is played by a boy called Ralph who is also visually impaired and uses a white cane.
As well as providing guide dogs to people who are blind or visually impaired, the Guide Dogs charity also give life skills and family support to everyone affected by sight loss. The aim of this advert is to raise awareness of Guide Dogs’ services and the reason it exists – to help people with sight loss live the life they choose.
Which of these adverts is your favourite or do you know any other TV adverts featuring disabled people? Let us know in the comments box or on social media.
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