Why including “disability” on the cover of Parents Magazine matters
Yesterday Sept 7th, Parents Magazine, released there October 2016 edition with our ambassador Amanda Booth and her son Micah on the cover.
Because we advocate for this kind of inclusion everyday here at CTFOB.
The type of advertising that says “Hey, World I am a mom of a beautiful boy that I am proud of, I pay attention and purchase products that you market!” It is that simple.
Amanda is a mom who is proud of her son. She happens to be a professional model and her son is following in her footsteps. I mean look at that face! She blogs, works, juggles and cooks every day just like any other mom. Yet her family remains part of a community of families that are rarely represented unless the focus is “special”.
We here at CTFOB want inclusion in the media, in the most natural of ways.
We want to see people with disability in the same roles, articles, toy magazines and commercials that any other consumer would be cast for.
We want to see disability imbedded in the media like race and gender already are. It is time that the disability community see their families represented along side the families they live next door too. We don’t want “special”. We wear the same clothes, fly on the same planes, eat the same food and play with the same toys as the rest of the population.
I can not tell you how many times I have heard the words, “if I include a model with a disability in an advertisement that would communicate that the product was marketed to the disabled population only.” I often respond asking the question, “Would you think the same way if a brown skinned model was cast in an advertisement? Would that mean the product being advertised would only be marketed to the population of people with brown skin?” That is definitely not the case. People with brown skin are included because they are consumers. The disability community should be considered because they too buy products. It is that simple.
This thought process is still going on today and until more publications like Parents Magazine portray families who have a disability as part of society, the ad world could continue to think that way.
Projects that segregate the disability community into the “special” category foster those thoughts. We actually break it down, and remind retailers and creatives that including a person with a disability in their communication is actually a good business decision.
It is not excluding their product to only be considered by people with disability. It is actually opening the door to consumers who makeup the largest minority in the world. You need to sell a product? You are in luck because we buy products, lots of them! Interesting right?
The disability population sells products and they sell products well. I guarantee this edition of Parents Magazine will be one of the most shared and publicized covers for them in 2016. Why? Because the disability population is so under represented that when we see representation we talk about it. We use our purchasing power and we support brands that see us.
We need more statements like this. The statement of “we see you, you matter to us, and we want your business” communicated directly to the disability community in our advertising today. Because that is what advertising and media are about. The media voice remains one of the loudest influencers in the world. That is why Parents Magazines decision to include a model with a disability on their cover is so very powerful.
Much Love,
Katie Driscoll
Founder and President of Changing the Face of Beauty
Changing the Face of Beauty is committed to continuing the education around more inclusion in advertising. If you want to help this mission, share this link with your teachers and administrators! Learn more about our PSA program below:
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