In a flash it seems the Paralympics are already upon us, with the Games getting under way on Wednesday (28 August), barely more than two weeks after the Olympics’ breathless conclusion.
And – as with its sister event – the Paralympics has proved to be eminently fertile ground for brands and advertisers rushing to associate their name with one of sport’s showpiece events.
The next two weeks will inevitably be a glorious celebration of elite sport. But that is where the similarities end, and the focus moves to what makes the Paralympics truly special: its unequivocal uniqueness.
The platform it offers disabled athletes to showcase their extraordinary talents has helped supercharge representation over the years and crucially, brings some very important and much-needed conversations to the fore.
The Paralympic spirit
Interestingly, while many of this year’s campaigns have focused on celebrating the identity and self-expression of disabled people through sport, much of the work has also been concerned with dispelling misconceived notions around the games.
For many years, Paralympians have faced harmful stereotypes, with the ‘happy to take part’ trope implying they are less focused on winning, or somehow not elite athletes in their own rights.
This is the focus of campaigns such as Nike’s ‘Winning is Winning’ and Channel 4’s ‘Considering What’, which both celebrate the ruthless, ultra-competitive nature of para-sport.
Bursting these tired old clichés has been a major concern for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Its own campaign is a brilliantly gritty affair, shining an unflinching spotlight on the brutally competitive nature of the games.
This is necessarily counterbalanced however, by the need to stress that despite decades of significant progress, the disabled community still continues to face serious challenges across the UK.
The most striking example of this is the shocking news that, earlier this week, decorated Paralympian and life peeress Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson was forced to crawl off an LNER train at King’s Cross St. Pancras.
Currently recovering from serious injury myself, I have found it genuinely eye-opening how poorly adapted this country’s transport system is for people with mobility issues.
Stories like this are precisely why campaigns like Channel 4’s recent collaboration with Bupa and Purple Goat are still so vital. Despite estimates suggesting that pretty much one in four Britons has some form of disability, only 4% of UK ads currently include disabled people.
Hopefully, the 2024 Paralympic Games can help galvanise the nation and the UK government to become more truly inclusive as we enact tangible change.
In that spirit – here are some of the best Paralympics ads to have been produced this year so far:
Channel 4 – Considering what?
Channel 4 has a big job on its hands as the primary Paralympic broadcaster and it is excelling this year with highly-impactful works such as this one.
This provocative effort calls out harmful stereotypes around the event, as well as the skill level and determination of its athletes with a simple, powerful message.
“They offer no head starts, no free passes, no patronising pat on the head and another go around. Excellence is excellent, no caveats. How strange that as audiences we watch one of the world’s most elite sporting events with our heads tilted and our amazement seemingly tempered,” 4creative ECD, Lynsey Atkin said.
Channel 4, Bupa and Purple Goat – Where are all the disabled people?
A simple campaign with a very important message, this work addresses the lack of representation that disabled people experience throughout UK advertising.
If the industry is able to come on leaps and bounds in terms of representing more women, ethnic minority groups and different sexualities – why can’t we achieve the same for disabled people?
A Purple Goat spokesperson said: “The more comfortable and confident we make marketeers to think inclusively – the more that translates directly into brands and advertisers delivering on that.
“We’re excited to support in helping to drive this work forward together, with the disabled community front and centre of our work at every stage.”
Winning is winning – Nike
Forming a follow-up effort to Nike’s effortlessly intense ‘Winning isn’t for everyone’ spot unveiled shortly before the Olympics, this latest effort is much in the same vein as Channel 4’s ‘Considering what?’
Narrated by Italian fencer Bebe Vio, the brand’s film also stars German and American long jumpers and sprinters Markus Rehm and Beatriz Hatz, as well as Spanish swimmer Nuria Marques.
“Here’s a quick reminder that just like every other athlete that competes at the Games, Paralympians are obsessed with winning,” Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam associate creative director, Christian Baur said.
Bupa – ‘This is Health’
The need to make society more accessible is once again echoed in Bupa’s ‘This is health’ campaign, encourages people to look beyond the typical portrayal of health, in its position as the official healthcare partner for ParalympicsGB.
Launched with an immersive takeover of St. Pancras (I’m sure the irony isn’t lost on anyone), the work makes great use of braille and audio to help bring its content to as many people as possible.
“The campaign aims to showcase different perspectives on health,” said Bupa director of brand marketing Angelique Walker. “To ensure we were able to truly reflect what life is like with a disability we worked with photographer Sonny McCartney, an amputee, to capture those everyday moments, as well as accessibility marketing specialists.
IPC – We all stand together
The spot that started it all off for this year’s central theme was developed by Adam&EveDDB for the International Paralympic Committee, and launched 100 days out from the start of the event.
The unsuspecting viewer is at first greeted with a Smurfs-like utopian cartoon vision of what the Paralympics are about taking part before being brought crashing into the brutal reality of its ultra-competitive nature.
“Over the last 75 years, Para sport has grown from a small gathering of injured war veterans to the games becoming the world’s third largest sporting event watched by billions of TV viewers,” IPC chief brand and communications officer, Craig Spence said.
“But despite its stratospheric growth there are many who still see the Paralympics as first and foremost an idyllic event where the athletes are just carefree and happy to be there. Adam&EveDDB’s new film debunks this myth in the most fun and creative way possible.”
John West – ‘Eat strong, go strong’
To end things on a lighter note (after all, not everything needs to be so serious), we have John West tuna’s light-hearted special build out-of-home campaign that celebrates the herculean strength of paralympians.
Build by Havas and dotted around the country, the public will be dazzled by a series of billboards that quite literally illustrate how risk para-sport can really be.
“We are extremely proud to be partnered with ParalympicsGB and are excited to be supporting the team on their road to Paris. The campaign perfectly brings together the John West tongue-in-cheek tone of voice and benefits of our natural protein,” said John West International marketing director, Vikki Babb.