The Possibility in Disability
Advertising to people with disabilities might sound odd, even unethical. But the definitions of both advertising and disability have morphed beyond recognition in the past 10 years, and it’s time the industry got with the program.
Advertising is no longer defined by selling alone; utility and brand interaction are championed. Disability isn’t disability anymore, just difference.
Autism awareness campaigns are nothing new. Many are beautiful, thoughtful, and, sure, eye opening. But let’s give society credit. Eyes are open, including those in the faces of people living ‘different’ lives. Emotional disability-awareness PSAs have a place, but let’s pivot the conversation and acknowledge that, granted, people with differences are different. Yes, there are variations in ability. But why not develop conversations, platforms, and even products that serve this diverse, complicated, and ignored population through the exploitation of technology and smart creative thinking?
Ideas like this exist.
To touch is to believe. That’s the premise for Fittle, a small puzzle designed for blind kids, and recognized in Communication Arts. The letters F-I-S-H are embossed on a modular four-block puzzle so kids who can’t see can feel their words, and understand what’s normally darkness. The Fittle app translates the physical representation of the fish into a digital copy so children can connect the sounds of words with shapes and begin to build their own interpretation of reality.
Fittle isn’t something an advertising agency created … but it could be, and it should be. It’s a product. It understands and serves its audience. And, mostly importantly, it’s doing something good. It’s offensive not to understand that people with disabilities deserve to engage with brands too. They deserve more than carers or ‘normal’ friends drip-feeding them products and services it’s assumed they need.
And the answer is as simple as Fittle. Why shouldn’t advertisers string a sentence of braille down the handrail of a subway for a relevant product? Why not think about how brands can exploit the Internet of Things to serve a different audience? What could Beacon do for someone with autism? How can utility reposition apparently inaccessible products?
The questions are endless, and as yet unanswered. But as advertising and the definition of audiences evolve, it’s time to keep our eyes open to the possibility in difference.
