Roundtable On Disability And Advertising, Part I

Advertising & Society Quarterly

A panel of academics and industry leaders came together to discuss the topic of disability and advertising. In Part I of this roundtable, participants discuss many topics: defining what disability means from cultural, social, and legal perspectives; how disability is factored into design; how to confront awkwardness people have in talking about disability; negative representations of disability, but also positive representations that emerge when the disabled community collaborates with advertising creators; the story behind Microsoft's XBox Adaptive Controller Super Bowl ad; how reaching and respecting disabled consumers is good for business; advertising's power to change perceptions about disabilities; the negative impact of representing disabilities through the trope of inspiration porn; advertisers' missteps in representing disabilities; and how advertisements impact how people see disabled people as desirable and how disabled people see themselves as desirable.