Football, Super Bowl, Wheelchair

Advertising, Disability & Super Bowl 50 are a Winning Combo

What’s my favorite Super Bowl ad? If I had to pick, there are more than a thousand options over the course of the game’s 50 years. But what’s my favorite Super Bowl ad inclusive of people with disabilities? Now the options shrink dramatically down to a handful. Encourage ‪#‎visibilityofdisability‬ in advertising during the big game and for that matter any day.

This year we’re lucky enough to have two more spots to consider among the best that are inclusive of disability, one from SunTrust Bank and the other from AXE, the number one men’s fragrance brand in the world.

“Masculinity today is going through seismic changes. More than ever, guys are rejecting rigid male stereotypes,” said Matthew McCarthy, Senior Director, AXE & Men’s Grooming for Unilever. “We’ve been part of guys’ lives for decades, and AXE champions real guys and the unique traits that make them attractive to the world around them.”

According to a SunTrust press release, the Super Bowl ad from SunTrust – called “Hold Your Breath” – is an optimistic, second-by-second reminder that worrying about money can cause you to miss life’s important moments. It’s based on the core belief that anyone can achieve financial confidence, as well as the research finding that financially confident people are three times more likely to be satisfied with their lives, across all income levels.

For me these inclusive ads are even better that last year’s, which you can find here, because disability is simply part of a larger group of diverse people represented in each of these advertisements. Disability isn’t singled out and elevated to the point of what some might consider sensationalism.

Even though Super Bowl 50 is still a few days away, those advertisers that are spending upwards of $5,000,000 for air time are already jostling for field position near their goal lines of social posts and increased sales. Advertising and media pundits have been weighing in on which brand will come out victorious and which ones may be losers. But among the hype of press releases, articles and interviews with agencies and marketing directors little focus is dedicated to advertising and disability.

Let’s make the conversation louder. Please share this post, vote on the USA Today Ad Meter for these two spots and let advertisers, agencies and trade publications like Advertising Week and Ad Age know that advertising and disability is important not only to the disability community but simply to the whole community.

By the way my favorite Super Bowl ad ever is this.

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