±±¾©Èü³µpk10

So news of an initiative from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) aimed at promoting the greater use of images of disability in government ads is an encouraging sign that the government is to use its massive marketing clout for the greater good.

The project is designed to encourage COI Communications, its roster agencies and Whitehall departments to look at the option of using disabled people in their campaigns. The DWP hopes that from now on, at least one-in-five ads will embrace the idea.

"The fact is that we are a big advertiser, and our advertising should reflect reality, says the government's minister for disabled people, Maria Eagle.

"There are 8.5 million disabled people in the UK and they are tired of being invisible. We see it as our responsibility to take the lead."

Eagle is at pains to point out that departments have not been handed quotas or given specific instructions about how to implement the project.

And she stresses that images of disability should not distract from a campaign's core message or impinge on its creativity. But she believes that every government campaign of the past year could have found some way of featuring disabled people.

"We all know the power of advertising, but this is not about political correctness, it is about ensuring our advertising is a reflection of society, she says. "Disabled people do not mind tokenism as much as they mind being invisible. We want to get people thinking about the issue."

Eagle points out that the attempt to be more inclusive mirrors government policy in the area of disability discrimination.

The Disabled Citizens' Rights Charter of 2004 and updates to the Disability Discrimination Act will be supported by awareness-raising DWP campaigns.

Missed targets

While commercial advertisers continue to favour idealistic images of youth and beauty in their marketing, Eagle sees no reason why the private sector should not take up the DWP's baton.

"The millions of disabled people in the UK have considerable purchasing power, so by failing to address them, advertisers may well be missing a trick, she says.

Some commercial advertisers have already taken steps. Freeserve and Coca-Cola have both used high-profile campaigns to promote messages of social inclusion by featuring disabled people.

And prior to its recent rebranding as T-Mobile, mobile phone company One 2 One ran a through-the-line campaign to promote its sponsorship of England's disabled football team.

The use of disabled celebrities has also played a powerful role in the brand campaigns of several companies. Stephen Hawking, the scientist, has starred in ads for BT.

Creative agenda

Microsoft's current brand campaign, leveraging its sponsorship of the Commonwealth Games, features Paralympic gold medallist Tanni Grey-Thompson in action.

Ian Twinn, director of public affairs at the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers, welcomes the government's approach to the issue.

"As a major advertiser, it can take the lead and demonstrate that advertising should be inclusive. It is important that our members, too, do not exclude the possibility."

Whether advertisers can convince agencies to be socially inclusive in their creative solutions is another matter. But as Nick Hastings, D'Arcy's executive creative director, suggests, the initiative is too important not to take seriously.

"We need to make sure this is on the creatives' agenda. Ads can be made more commercially impactful by using images of disability - they make for memorable ads and that's the kind of ad people talk about."