The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising’s (IPA) Talent and Diversity Conference 2025 opened this morning (30 April), with around 250 people in attendance, in person and online. The event, which was partnered by Channel 4, had the theme of “unity”.
Amber Kirby, marketing director of Channel 4, said the aim of the broadcaster is to make positive change through entertainment.
She outlined the channel’s ongoing coverage of the Paralympic Games which began with the London 2012 Paralympic Games, when “only 14% of the UK said they were going to watch the Paralympics”.
That year, Channel 4 launched its memorable ‘Super Humans’ campaign, which “really put Paralympic sport on the main stage”, she said.
Following the high profile ads, 69% said it was the first time they had made an effort to watch the coverage.
However, she acknowledged that not everyone was happy about the campaign, with some people saying the Super Human tag “played down” the talent and dedication of the athletes.
For the Rio Games in 2016, the campaign was adapted, and by Tokyo 2020/21 the messaging was changed to highlight the “complexities and vulnerabilities” of the competitors, with the campaign ‘Super. Human.’
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The Paris Paralympic Games in 2024, was the “difficult fourth album”, she said. “We focused on what the athletes were overcoming” and “it’s not disability”, but gravity, friction and time.
“Sport doesn’t care about disability,” she told delegates. “We created an outdoor campaign just cut through that qualifier.”
The broadcaster is now gearing up for the next Paralympic Games in LA in 2028, she said.
Leila Siddiqi, director of D&I at the IPA, welcomed delegates to the central London conference.
She highlighted the IPA’s recently announced partnership with Brixton Finishing School which will see students introduced to more than 70 local agencies.
She said the word ‘diversity’ has become “uncomfortable” for many people. However, “it is not the word diversity that it is important”, but the actions around it.
