Profitability, Diversity, and Disability Images in Advertising in the United States and Great Britain

Abstract

The disabled consumer is coming of age. Companies in the United States and Great Britain are seeing the profitability of including disabled people in their advertising. But what are the implications of the images produced in these advertisements? Are they moving away from the pity narratives of charity? Are they creating acceptance and integration of disabled people?The two countries have slightly different histories of inclusion of disabled people in advertisements, but what we are considering in this article are the cultural implications of the current trend of the more prevalent use of disabled models in print and broadcast ads. We argue that although many businesses are learning to use disabled models in advertising due to capitalistic motivation for profits, this crass commercialism is actually producing some good disability images in advertising. As one British marketing official explained, good disability images and well-done advertisements are designed to promote brand loyalty and make a product more popular (VisABLE video, 2000). In addition, we are arguing that companies are understanding that diversity in advertising images enhance audience reception to their products.Advocates for disabled people in US have long known the importance of the "disabled consumer market." Carmen Jones of EKA Marketing (1997) says: "Few companies have enjoyed the profitability that results in targeting the consumer who happens to have a disability. . . . I believe if the business community were educated about the size and potential of the market, then advertising programs with the disabled consumer in mind" would be created (p. 4). In the new millennium, advertisers are realizing that disabled people buy soap, milk, socks, jewelry, makeup, home improvement goods, use travel services, live in houses, and enjoy nice home furnishings. There is some evidence that the disabled consumer is very much more brand loyal than other consumers. (Quinn, 1995). For example, the hotel chain Embassy Suites found out that becoming sensitive to the needs of disabled people lead to more business. And a study by the National Captioning Institute found that 73 percent of deaf people switched to a brand that had TV ad captioning (Quinn, 1995).British companies are still more hesitant in including disabled people in their advertisements due to both different advertising methods and societal attitudes. Although print ads are just as frequent in British publications, ads on British television are much less prevalent and more restricted than in the US where about 12 minutes of each half hour of commercial TV are advertisements. In the UK "the total amount of spot advertising in any one day must not exceed an average of nine minutes per hour of broadcasting" (ITC, 1998, p.1).However, some companies in both countries were slow to learn what accurate and non-stigmatizing advertising images were. For example, in 1990 a Fuji TV ad for film on British television that featured a man with learning disabilities being "improved" by a

The invisible minority: under‐representation of people with disabilities in prime‐time TV dramas in Japan

“…In contrast, intellectual disability, visual impairments such as blindness, hearing impairment and wheelchair use are much easier to dramatise. After analysing images of disabled people appearing in advertising in the US and UK, Haller and Ralph (2001) concluded that the images in advertisements focused on wheelchair use and deafness; advertising, therefore, took the easiest route in showing disability. While the disabilities shown on Japanese TV dramas are not the same as those that Haller and Ralph found in advertisements, we believe that the same logic (the 'easy way out') determines the images used in dramas.…”

An advertising aesthetic: Real beauty and visual impairment

“…This recognition was greatly aided by legislation in the form of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). Moreover, although many businesses started to use disabled models in advertising due to capitalistic motivation (i.e., an awareness not only that there were potential customers who had impairments, but also that diversity enhanced audience reception to the products in question), the crass commercialism produced some good disability images (Haller & Ralph, 2001). Albeit due to a desire for profits, companies learned to move away from the use of pity narratives and toward advertisements that were sensitive and accurate, that represented disability as 'another slice of life' (Haller & Ralph, 2001), progress that was bound to reduce stigmatisation.…”

“…In relation to Britain, advertisements on American television were more prevalent and less restricted (Haller & Ralph, 2001) but nonetheless harshly underrepresented people who had impairments.…”

Impact of a film portrayal of a police officer with spinal cord injury on attitudes towards disability: a media effects experiment

“…Although it is the case that increased awareness of certain disabilities does not necessarily lead to more acceptance [28], writing and composition can help make disability more visible in the general society [29]. It has been argued that greater prominence of disabled people in other media areas such as advertising could help increase public acceptance and promote greater integration in society [30]. Some evidence has also been presented regarding the potential of the media to influence attitudes and beliefs with regard to disability [31].…”