One of the leading brands for automated web accessibility solutions, accessiBe, is expanding its advocacy to make websites more accessible to mainstream media with the launch of its US national TV campaign. Called The Unstoppable, this television advertising campaign aims to spread awareness about inclusivity and making the internet accessible for people with disabilities.
accessiBe Chief Executive Officer Shir Ekerling notes how important the TV ad is in promoting awareness about web accessibility to wider audiences. “Despite web accessibility being a critical topic, especially as people continue to do almost everything online, conversations around it have not yet entered the mainstream TV world. At accessiBe, we believe this has to change,” Ekerling says.
Many businesses run ads on the web, but people rarely look at ads online. To reach out to businesses and people who may have a say on how businesses’ websites are created, accessiBe is taking the logical decision of going into TV promotion.
accessiBe Chief Vision Officer Michael Hingson offers an excellent summary of the current situation of the internet for people with disabilities: “People with disabilities aren’t limited by their limitations, they’re limited by an inaccessible web.”
An ad created by and featuring people with disabilities
The minute-long ad began to air across different US networks on July 12, 2021. It is notable not only for its message of empowerment, but for featuring people with disabilities. It also drives the message deeper by employing a team of people with disabilities to work behind the cameras as well.
Written and produced by a team that includes a wide range of people from the disability spectrum, the ad features only participants with disabilities. The unstoppable actors, all of whom have accomplished incredible achievements ranging from winning a medal in the Paralympics, to performing on Broadway, to raising a family. These include Aimee Copeland, Emily Kranking, Kyle Maynard, James Clingman, and more
Hingson expressed elation over the production and launching of the TV ad. “I am honored and excited to have worked so closely on the creation of this campaign. In addition to bringing awareness to an important topic, I hope that it also brings a sense of empowerment to members of the community,” he said.
Appealing to businesses as vital accessibility enablers
The ad, which has also been posted on YouTube, emphasizes the need to make more people aware of web accessibility and it empowers people with disabilities. It particularly targets businesses, as people with disabilities in the ad highlight how some business websites are not accessible to those with disabilities who want to buy shoes, order food, apply for a job, or sign up at dating sites, etc.
Near the end of the ad, quadruple amputee and mixed martial arts athlete Kyle Maynard makes a straightforward but poignant appeal: “Hey, if your business has a website, make it accessible.” An organic farmer with a disability featured on the ad also reminds businesses not to “just do it to be compliant.”
“Our campaign aims to open the hearts and minds of business owners to the importance of web accessibility. As amazing, unstoppable people who contribute to all facets of society, people with disabilities should have access to the Internet and its full potential,” writes an excerpt on the ad’s caption.
Offering a quick and easy way to be web-accessible
Founded in 2018, accessiBe has been advancing the web accessibility agenda innovatively. The company started by offering tailored web accessibility solutions for individual sites. Eventually, the company developed a way to harness artificial intelligence to facilitate the process of making websites accessible to people with disabilities.
accessiBe is growing and just like its “The Unstoppable” campaign, it has no intentions of being hindered by the challenges in enabling web accessibility for all.
This article is sponsored by accessiBe
Leave a Comment