Blind Models Strike a Pose in This Campaign for Better Disability Inclusion
Havas Group Peru calls for more inclusive hiring practices that benefit disabled communities
This article originally appeared in Adweek by writer Natalie Venegas.
Cercil, a care center for the blind, collaborated with Havas to create the campaign “Models That Will Be Seen.”
While there have been significant efforts made in celebrating the disability community, seen in brand campaigns such as Unilever’s Degree’s Sick Beats, for example, the ad industry still significantly lacks disability inclusion, especially when it comes to hiring new talent.
In an effort to put disability inclusion at the forefront, Cercil, a comprehensive care center for the blind in Lima, Peru, collaborated with Havas Group Peru to create “Models That Will Be Seen,” a campaign aimed at hiring blind diverse talent. According to Cercil, with only 23% of visually impaired Peruvians finding work, the campaign creates a space where blind talent can become actual ad models.
Havas Group Peru released a two-minute spot featuring a group of visually impaired people playfully posing with different models of sunglasses. The spot highlights that no one else is better to model sunglasses in advertising campaigns than those who have been wearing them for a lifetime. It ends with a call to action and a montage of ad mock-ups starring the models for brands like Hyundai, Claro, GrandVision and Scotiabank.
HOW ADVERTISING CAN FINALLY GET REAL ABOUT REPRESENTING DISABILITY
Most importantly, the work doubles as an actual ad that these models can add to their professional portfolios.
Shifting hiring practices
Although we’ve seen brands dynamically shift marketing, hiring and accessibility practices, such as MOD Pizza’s latest hiring policy and Ford’s FordWorks initiative in support of disabled and marginalized communities, according to Havas Group Peru, more progress needs to be made before a real change in inclusion can be see within the disability community.
As noted by the agency, one of those practices in generating wider visibility is creating real opportunities that professionally benefit communities in need.
“Advertising has a great power to transform and reach; supporting minorities is one of the most powerful actions we can do,” Mauricio Fernández Maldonado, chief creative officer at Havas Group Peru, said in a statement. “With this opportunity and thanks to Cercil’s trust, we were able to bring job opportunities to blind Peruvians from the Cercil center. We managed to get big brands to consider them for their campaigns, doing something that comes naturally to them, wearing sunglasses.”
CREDITS:
Agency: Havas Group Peru
CCO: Mauricio Fernández Maldonado
Copywriter: Juan Carlos Gallardo
Producer: Diego Nole
