Dylan Alcott AO Partners With Some of Australia's Leading Brands to Launch the Shift 20 Initiative, Revolutionising Disability Representation in Australian Advertising

SYDNEY, September 18, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Yesterday evening, gold medallist Paralympian Dylan Alcott AO launched the Shift 20 Initiative, along with some of Australia's most well-known brands. The Shift 20 Initiative is focused on increasing disability representation, inclusion and accessibility in Australian advertising.

Despite the fact that almost 20% of Australians live with a disability, people with disability are seriously under-represented on-screen, with 1% of advertising campaigns globally featuring people with disability.

The aim of the Shift 20 Initiative is to shift representation of people with disability in advertising, with a goal of getting to a more accurate representation of the population by 2028. To achieve this, Shift 20 aims to challenge brands on disability representation in their advertising whilst demonstrating the positive benefits inclusion can have on brand reputation and commercial outcomes. 

The Shift 20 Initiative launched on Sunday 17 September with ANZ, AAMI, Bonds, Kia, McDonalds, Oral-B, nib, Pantene, Uber and Weet-Bix coming together to demonstrate the importance of disability representation on-screen. These brands have all replaced scenes within their TVCs to include talent with a disability.  

The initiative helps educate other brands on how to take similar steps to increase diversity and inclusion of people with disability within advertising with TikTok, Tourism Australia and Virgin Australia also having signed on as foundation partners. This coalition of brands will help lead the way in commitment to fair representation of people with disability within their ads and marketing communications, providing opportunities and opening doors for people with disability to be themselves and see themselves on screen.

Dylan Alcott, AO, Founder of the Dylan Alcott Foundation commented; "When I was a kid, the only time I'd see someone like me on TV was as a result of a tragic car accident, and that hasn't really changed. Seeing people like me on TV would have changed my life, and that's what is so powerful about this initiative. The talent are not famous people with disability, instead they're ordinary people doing ordinary things; eating breakfast, opening bank accounts and wearing undies. 

"We want to shift perceptions so that when society thinks of people with disability, they don't only think of gold medal Paralympians or someone in an accident, they see a person, just like them. Hopefully that will encourage people to have a different perspective so you might then hire someone in your business with a disability or see someone in a bar that is blind or deaf and ask them on a date." 

You can find out more about the initiative, and help to create more representative and accessible comms at Shift20.org.

Source: Shift 20 Initiative