Unilever calls for increased inclusivity for disabled community in advertising

By Alessandro Carrara | Published: 1-Jun-2023

Unilever's new ‘Believe in Talent’ campaign comes after it found that 73% of disabled content creators feel the industry is exclusionary of them

Unilever launched its new ‘Believe in Talent’ campaign to get more people with a disability working behind the camera in advertising production.

The consumer goods company has pledged to ensure all of its productions over €100,000 include at least one person with a disability as part of the crew.

Unilever also created a new, open-source ‘Inclusive Production Toolkit’, outlining best practices to support people with disabilities in the industry.

The campaign forms part of Unilever's Act 2 Unstereotype initiative, which aims to help under-represented communities have full access to opportunities in advertising.

It is also focused on eradicating harmful stereotypes from marketing and advertising.

“Content creators have created this wonderfully inclusive space on social media and are showing us that it’s possible to be authentic and break stereotypes,” said Aline Santos, Chief Brand Officer and Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Unilever.

“Advertising stands to benefit from harnessing this skilled talent.”

The campaign’s launch comes after Unilever found that 73% of disabled content creators feel the industry is exclusionary of them.

At present, persons with disabilities only represent 8.3% of roles on-screen and 6% off-screen in the UK.

In the US, 34% of consumers also feel under-represented in the media and 52% feel inaccurately represented.

“As we continue to strive for better creativity in our advertising and seek to build better connections with all people around the world, it’s imperative that persons with disabilities are part of the creative process working both behind the camera and on screen,” said Santos.

“We are committed to changing the way we operate on commercial productions to ensure we harness all the great talent from the disabled community,” added Dana Cadden, Unilever’s Global Head of Advertising Production.

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