Adverts featuring people with disabilities can significantly improve consumer attitudes towards brands and their products, according to new research co-authored by Bayes Business School. The study also highlights the effectiveness of diversity regulations and shows that compliance-driven inclusion can generate the same positive outcomes as voluntary efforts. Although one in seven people worldwide lives with a visible or invisible disability, people with disabilities continue to be substantially underrepresented in advertising.

The research, co-authored by Zachary Estes alongside academics from the University of Amsterdam and Bocconi University, examined advertisements across a variety of products, services, and disability types in both hypothetical and real-world settings. Six studies involving more than 2,000 participants found that consumers consistently responded more positively to brands whose adverts included people with disabilities.

Researchers found that favourable consumer reactions occurred in both public and anonymous settings, indicating that the effect was not driven simply by social signalling. The positive impact of disability inclusion also extended beyond consumer goods to more formal sectors such as financial services. Rather than making brands appear warmer or trendier, disability inclusion primarily strengthened perceptions of inclusivity.

The studies further showed that brands benefited from disability-inclusive advertising regardless of whether representation was voluntary or required by regulation. In one experiment, participants were given differing explanations about why a fictional restaurant included a man using a wheelchair in its advert. Perceptions of inclusivity remained similarly positive whether the inclusion resulted from genuine initiative or regulatory compliance, suggesting that mandatory diversity requirements can still produce meaningful commercial and social benefits.

At the same time, the research identified important factors that can weaken or erase the positive effects of disability inclusion. Advertisements portraying people with disabilities as vulnerable rather than socially integrated were viewed less favourably. Likewise, explicitly drawing attention to a person’s disability within an advert reduced positive reactions. In one study involving autism as an example of an invisible disability, direct mention of the disability eliminated the inclusion advantage.

Participants in earlier studies also demonstrated stronger preferences for brands featuring people with disabilities in adverts for products such as shower gels and energy drinks, even when making private choices without social pressure. Later studies expanded the analysis by providing participants with additional information about brands’ motivations for inclusive advertising and by testing reactions to both visible and invisible disabilities.

The authors concluded that concerns among marketing managers about alienating mainstream consumers or appearing tokenistic are largely unsupported by evidence. More than 80 per cent of participants across the studies responded positively to disability inclusion in advertising. The researchers argue that inclusive campaigns are most effective when they portray people with disabilities as confident and capable participants in everyday life, rather than as vulnerable figures. The study, titled Beyond Visibility: The Disability Inclusion Effect in Advertising, was published in the Journal of Marketing.

More information: Martina Cossu et al, Beyond Visibility: The Disability Inclusion Effect in Advertising, Journal of Marketing. DOI: 10.1177/00222429261447790

Journal information: Journal of Marketing Provided by City St George’s, University of London