Channel 4 hits back at patronising stereotypes in its new campaign for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, ditching the ‘Superhumans’ brand platform it has used since 2012.
The new creative – entitled ‘Considering what?’ – hammers home that Paralympians are world-class athletes in their own right, rather than people ‘overcoming’ their disabilities.
It comes after research commissioned by Channel 4 showed that 59% of people said they watched the Paralympics to see people “overcoming their disabilities”, with just 37% saying they watch the Paralympic Games for “exciting sporting competition”.
Viewers are asked to reconsider their preconceptions of Paralympic greatness as sporting legends Aaron Phipps, Emmanuel Oyinbo-Coker and Dame Sarah Storey are shown going head-to-head with the powerful forces of gravity, friction and time.
The film brings each of the forces to life, showing the athletes tackling them head-on, before panning to various people watching the events unfold on screen, commenting “They’re so brave”, and “They’re doing so well, considering…”.
On the latter, a girl’s friend challenges her: “Considering what?”
Running at 9pm tomorrow night ahead of Gogglebox, the film will also simultaneously be aired across all of the broadcaster’s other channels.
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Supported by a nationwide out-of-home campaign where well-meaning but patronising slogans are corrected by the physicality of the sport itself, the new brand platform will be the first time Channel 4 does not use ‘Superhumans’ positioning since it first won the UK broadcast rights to the Paralympics in 2010.
“Gravity, friction, time. The unchangeable forces of our world dictate what it means to be the best on the pitch, in the pool, on the court, on the track,” said 4creative executive director Lynsey Atkin.
“They offer no head starts, no free passes, no patronising pat on the head and another go around. Excellence is excellent, no caveats. How strange that as audiences we watch one of the world’s most elite sporting events with our heads tilted and our amazement seemingly tempered,” she added.
Channel 4 chief marketing officer Katie Jackson added: “Since 2012, Channel 4 has played a key role in raising the profile of the Paralympic Games and challenging attitudes around disability. The Paralympics is one of the greatest sporting events in the world, drawing many millions of viewers.”
“And that’s just it. This is sport, where athletic prowess takes centre stage and excellence wins above all else.”
In addition to the OOH campaign, Channel 4 has also commissioned a striking mural created by artist Florence Burns, who is herself disabled.
Situated at Village Underground in Shoreditch, London, the mural echoes the sentiment of the poster campaign, with a Paralympic athlete striking through the patronising section of a statement.
The mural, created in partnership with experiential agency Fever, will be remain in place until 5 August.
