When you watch TV, scroll through your socials or flick through a magazine, do you wonder why there are so few people with disability featured in the advertising you see?
Nearly 20% of Australians have a visible or non-visible disability, yet only 1% of Australian ads include people with disability. That’s one in five Australians.
The Shift 20 Initiative is on a mission to change the under-representation of people with disability in Australian ads. Because real change starts with a shift.
What is the Shift 20 Initiative?
The Shift 20 initiative was conceived by the Dylan Alcott Foundation and creative group Special and aims to normalise people with disability in mainstream media.
"One thing I really struggled with growing up when I was a kid is when I turned on the TV, the radio, the newspaper, I never saw or heard anybody like me. I had no point of representation that I could connect to," says Dylan.
Alcott joined forces with creative group Special, to not only improve the representation of people with disability in advertising but to make it completely normal.
Making the Shift
The Shift 20 Initiative approached some of Australia’s most iconic brand leaders and advertisers with a bold idea. They wanted to re-create some of Australia’s most recognisable ads featuring new talent – people with disability.
The response was better than they could have hoped for with the following advertisers updating their iconic ads to include people with disability:
TikTok, Virgin Australia and Tourism Australia joined as foundation partners.
What’s Next for Shift 20 Initiative?
Looking forward, The Shift 20 Initiative continues to break down barriers to represent people with disability in mainstream media and change the narratives in marketing communications.
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