This year, when John Lewis released its 2025 Christmas advert, the audio-described version arrived on the same day. It was exactly what the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) had wished for a year earlier, when the 2024 ad ‘The Gifting Hour’ had its accessible version released a day late.

Accessibility isn’t just for Christmas

In August, Jammie Dodgers was the first client of a campaign ‘Alt By Default’, which set out to integrate audio descriptions (AD) into TV adverts for participating companies. While we’re seeing progress, it’s still seen as newsworthy when adverts include audio descriptions and the broader industry remains inconsistent. Most brands still treat accessibility as an optional add-on rather than an integral part of content creation.

Representation matters

The stakes are higher than ever. In the United Kingdom alone, there are more than 14 million disabled people. Globally, the disability community represents over one billion individuals with significant spending power. Yet these consumers remain largely invisible in advertising. Research shows that only 1% of primetime television ads include disability representation or themes. That’s despite comprising roughly 16% of the population. This represents both a moral failure and a massive missed opportunity.

Consider what happened when Target, the American retailer, featured children using wheelchairs in their Halloween advertising campaigns. Parents shared emotional stories online about their children seeing themselves represented for the first time. One mother wrote about her son stopping in his tracks, staring up at an in-store display featuring a boy in a wheelchair. He had never seen another child like himself in advertising before. These moments of recognition matter deeply to disabled people and their families, who rarely see their experiences reflected in mainstream media.

Inclusive ads are a smart decision

The business case is equally compelling. When Maltesers launched its groundbreaking disability campaign in 2016, featuring disabled actors sharing humorous, relatable stories, the brand achieved its most successful results in over a decade. The campaign exceeded its sales growth target, achieving 8.1% growth against a 4% target. The launch advertisement garnered over two million YouTube views within 24 hours, double the brand's goal. Brand affinity jumped 20%, also double the target. These weren't charity numbers. This was shrewd marketing that resonated because it was authentic.

Apple took a different approach with its 2022 campaign "The Greatest," which showcased disabled people using the company's accessibility features in their daily lives. The advertisement featured musicians, artists, athletes, and parents demonstrating how technology like door detection, sound recognition, and voice control enabled them to drive cars, identify clothing, and take photos independently. The campaign accumulated over 16 million views on YouTube in its first week, with an audio-described version garnering an additional 181,000 views.

This pattern repeats across industries. When brands make accessibility a priority in their advertising, they tap into underserved markets while building genuine loyalty. Research indicates that 70% of disabled people report experiencing advertisements that don't feel relevant to them, and 37% are likely to ignore ads that don't reflect their identity. These aren't small numbers when you're trying to reach consumers.

Building accessibility into the process is better for everyone

Accessible advertising isn't just about featuring disabled people on screen. It requires thinking through every element of how content is delivered. Audio descriptions allow blind and low-vision viewers to understand visual elements. Captions serve D/deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences, but they also benefit the 58% of all viewers who use subtitles to improve comprehension or watch content in different languages. When you design for accessibility, you often improve the experience for everyone.

Embedding accessibility into workflows needs to extend far beyond adverts and we know even brands as big as Apple don’t always get it right. With backlash on the usability issues in iOS 26’s Liquid Glass needing accessibility settings retrofitted in v26.1, getting it wrong can be costly to fix and to reputations. 

Moving beyond quotas to true inclusion

The challenge for brands is moving beyond tokenism. Simply placing a disabled person in an advertisement isn't enough if the content itself remains inaccessible or if the portrayal feels inauthentic. Maltesers succeeded because it worked closely with disability charity Scope to develop campaign concepts based on real stories from disabled people. The advertisements showed disabled individuals as fully realised people who happen to have disabilities, not as inspiration or objects of pity.

We haven't reached that day yet. Disabled people remain vastly underrepresented in advertising. This disconnect creates a vicious cycle where brands overlook disabled consumers, who then feel these brands aren't for them. Breaking this cycle requires intentionality. It means including disabled people in creative teams, building accessibility features into content from the beginning, and consulting with disability organisations to avoid harmful stereotypes.

Accessible adverts drive better business outcomes

The evidence is clear: accessible advertising that authentically represents disabled people drives business results while advancing social inclusion. Those that continue to overlook disabled consumers risk losing ground to competitors who understand that accessibility isn't a niche concern. It's smart business.