Channel 4 reveals the shortlist for its 10th Diversity in Advertising Award
Channel 4 Sales has revealed the five brands which have been shortlisted for a chance to win £1m of commercial airtime through its Diversity in Advertising Award.
The shortlisted brands are: Morrisons, entered by Leo UK, Maltesers, entered by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, The Open University, entered by Havas, Tesco, entered by Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) and Bodyform, entered by AMV BBDO.
In its 10th edition, the theme of the awards programme focuses on the idea of “inclusive by design,” encouraging the industry to entrench inclusive practices into ad creatives to remove barriers to engagement within TV advertising.
Amy Jenkins, sales leader at Channel 4, said: “It is inspiring to see so many companies wanting to develop work that is Inclusive by Design into the whole process.
“The final stage pitches are set to be a fantastic day with so much creativity, expertise and passion in the room.
“This year’s brief is built on the core belief that having adverts which are Inclusive by Design doesn’t just make things better for some; it enhances the experience for everyone.”
The shortlisted brands will take part in final stage pitches this month, where one brand will be chosen as the winner and their campaign will air on Channel 4 in 2026.
The four runners-up will be offered the opportunity to secure match funding to get their entries on air.
The judging panel for this year’s edition is chaired by Channel 4’s Amy Jenkins and is made up of industry leaders across ISBA, Thinkbox, IPA, Advertising Association, Marketing Society, Creativebrief, Paralympics GB, RNID, RNIB, Currys and Channel 4.
The Inclusive by Design brief is underpinned by research carried out by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), which shows 18m people in the UK have experienced hearing loss or deafness.
Research from the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) reveals around 340,000 people are registered blind or partially sighted in Britain.
These figures highlight the amount of people not being reached by most advertising, and the need for accessible and inclusive creative solutions.
Meanwhile, as part of its own commitment to accessibility, Channel 4 will require all ads running across linear and streaming to have closed captions by spring 2026.
All of Channel 4’s streaming inventory will also carry text descriptions and subtitles by the end of next year.
Furthermore, the broadcaster is committing to improving its commercial partnerships in accessibility terms.
Sponsorship idents will continue to have “inclusive by design” at their core and all creative partnerships will seek to contain subtitles as standard.
All brand deals will need to adhere to a set of accessibility standards and inclusive principles, encompassing those set out by Channel 4’s Disability Codes of Portrayal and a digital handbook created by Channel 4 Sales, Bupa and Purple Goat.
The digital handbook, which launches later this year, will contain best practice and links to further learning for advertisers.
The broadcasters latest Mirror on the Industry report highlighted how quality representation should be a commercial driver, with brands who focused on inclusive advertising seeing a 3.5% increase in short-term sales and there was an 8% uplift in brand affinity for Diversity in Advertising award-winning campaigns.
This shows how quality representation should be a commercial driver for brands, according to Channel 4’s latest Mirror on the Industry report.
Currys was the winner of the 2024/25 Diversity in Advertising Award. Its campaign, “Sigh of Relief”, was created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and was shown on Channel 4 in May.
Channel 4 makes new accessibility commitments as it announces 10th Diversity in Advertising Award