Channel 4 has shortlisted a record seven finalists for its Diversity in Advertising award this year.
Normally six brands are shortlisted but seven made the final list “due to the strength of the entries”.
The seven brands and agencies are: M&S (ODD Mindshare); Limitless Travel (Hearts & Minds); LinkedIn (VCCP); Sure (AMV BBDO); Vanish (Havas London); Moonpig (Creature London) and George at Asda (Impero).
These brands will be eligible for up to £250,000 of match-funded commercial airtime, meaning the potential total prize pot is in excess of £2m.
This year’s award focusses on ads tackling the lack of authentic representation and portrayer of visible and/or non-visible disabled people in TV advertising.
New data revealed that only 4% of TV adverts in the UK feature disabled people (vs 3% in 2020), compared to the 22% of the UK population who are disabled.
The winning campaign will be announced in October and could win £1m commercial advertising airtime across Channel 4, on-demand service All 4 and, for the first time, Channel 4’s YouTube channel.
On top of this, Channel 4’s in-house digital content team, 4Studio, will contribute a further £100k bespoke social media campaign, including production and media value, across the broadcaster’s Facebok, Instagram, and YouTube channels.
Last year’s winner, TENA (pictured, main image), launched a TV ad destigmatising the menopause using Channel 4’s diversity award funding.
Previous winners include Maltesers, Lloyds Bank, the RAF, Starbucks, and EA Sports whose ads respectively focussed on disability, mental health, the portrayal of women, the representation and stereotyping of the LGBTQ+ community, and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Culture.
