When watching T.V or surfing the net, adverts are just a distraction from viewing your link (and whatever you’re doing on the net, well that’s up to you) or is annoyingly in the way of watching that re-run of Top Gear. For the fifth time…..This week. So, like most men in general, I flick channels hoping Skysports News is still on and watch some report on a sport that I don’t even follow. It’s better than adverts…..Right?
Well….yes, you’re right. Music and SkySports News is more fun. Unless, in the advert, is a celebrity. A celebrity you know. Or even better, a celebrity you probably quite fancy and have their music videos ‘Sky plus’d', just in case they stop rolling. So I’ve heard.
So, naturally…you pay attention. Whether you knowingly are being told a message or have just stuck the advert on mute.
However, in the example, would Mrs/Miss Cole/Tweed (No bias here to Miss Tweed..errr) be used in the adverts if she did not have a clean bill of health? Would L’oreal, a giant company worth billions, have still advertised with the singer or would they have gone with someone else?
Well, apparently, L’oreal directors would’ve probably have been on the phone to another young singer to do the advertisement.
This is because that disabled people are not just under-represented, but when represented, there are in a negative way. According to Paul Hunt, disabled people are represented in 10 different, and notably negative, ways:
“
- An object of curiosity or violence
- Sinister or evil
- The super cripple
- As atmosphere
- Laughable
- His/her own worst enemy
- As a burden
- As Non-sexual
- Being unable to participate in daily life
- The disabled person as pitiable or pathetic “
Another key reason was the media stereotyped people to be just medically disabled like, such as, confined to a wheelchair, or being born without a limb. This is the point that personally really annoys me and frustrates me. I agree completely that people with a disability should be given not just more exposure, but a more positive exposure, but that the term ‘disability’ can mean much more than a physical difference.
One of my closest friends has autism. After once first meeting the lad, apart from the fact he was a 6 foot 2, 15 stone giant compared to my 5 foot 9, 9 ish stone frame, the first thing I noticed was that he was very shy. However, with a little persistance, and with me just being around, bashing the Xbox at my house, he became a different person. And that’s where I realised that it’s a comfort thing. I also notice there is no adverts that exposes disability without the physical difference. People with autism (in the case I have experienced) are just uncomfortable around new people and a new environment, but they still play football, beat me on the Xbox (which he lets me know about) , and still go down to the pub with their friends…oh and still break their mates foot messing about (Okay….I shouldn’t have tried to lift him!)
But anyway…I’ll leave you with this. It admittedly, on first watch, will bring you a smile. But hopefully, you can see my earlier point about him letting me know about the smashing’s I got on Tekken!
Sources:
http://www.disabilityplanet.co.uk/critical-analysis.html – Paul Hunt 10 Points
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies/archiveuk/Barnes/Media.pdf – Paul Hunt Essay
http://www.thinkdifferently.org.uk
