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Who’s Using Amputees in Advertising?Ideally, we would be able to publish an honor roll of mainstream
advertisers who have featured amputee actors or models in their
print or broadcast commercials. Such a list would constitute an
interesting and useful reference for our readers.
 Unfortunately, a resource that tracks this kind of
information on any current or comprehensive basis has proven
elusive--apparently it's one of those good ideas that no one seems
to have yet followed up on. (Anybody listening?)
Even talent agencies that utilize amputee actors and models are
understandably reluctant to share information concerning their
clients' professional assignments in order to identify employer
advertisers. The amputees we spoke with individually were willing
and helpful, but their information on specific advertisers they had
worked with added yet another thought-provoking aspect to this
topic: Reports from several amputees described commercials they had
been featured in--but which never aired. Hence, no residuals.
Why? One actor, an upper-limb amputee who was filmed watering
plants in a nursery, speculated that although the advertiser
(BellSouth) had good intentions, perhaps the final screening raised
concerns that members of the viewing audience are not yet as
comfortable watching an amputee with an upper-limb prosthesis as
they are seeing one with a lower-limb prosthesis, and they might
find it a distracting image. Perhaps it's a simple matter of
historically limited exposure--and given time, this barrier too
will erode.
Another reason why it is difficult to identify and isolate
advertisers who feature amputees is that, for better or worse,
those sources that focus on improving the visibility of people with
disabilities do not keep separate statistics specifically on
amputees.
Progress Is Being Made
Our research has shown, however, that impressive work is being
done by dedicated groups, task forces, organizations, and
committees--and impressive progress has been made. (See Ability
Magazine's online story of the "Media Access Office" and their
awards at http://abilitymagazine.com/Edwards_media.html).
Advertisers like McDonald's, Nissan, Sears, Honda, BellSouth,
Eukanuba, and others are indeed stepping forward to include more
and more disabled people of all types in their marketing
efforts.
Nissan's Landmark Effort
Considerable attention has been focused on Nissan's landmark
advertising effort, in particular. Advertising Age's coverage of
Nissan's January 2001 plans for the campaign can be accessed at www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=35799 -- for a
price. Another site, www.ovationadvertising.com/Enews/Archives/8.27.2002/1153.htm,
also describes the brand campaign: "The new Nissan TV spots use
high emotions, focusing on people shifting their lives and
activities. In one, a double-amputee female rock climber is shown
struggling upward. A text line says Shift Obstacles.' The
emotionally charged work introduces "Shift" as the new umbrella tag
[for the campaign]."
The campaign, which was introduced in the US in September 2002,
uses the "Shift" version of Nissan's global tag, "Shift the
Future." (In Japan and Europe, the tag appears variously as "Shift
the Future" and "Shift Expectations." Apparently Americans tend to
prefer more tangible and physical goal-setting.) In "The Spirit of
Branding," an essay contributed by Dr. Seamus Phan to www.allaboutbranding.com, Phan reports that
according to The Wall Street Journal, Nissan USA spent $700-$750
million on the new "SHIFT __" campaign, to rejuvenate the brand and
mindshare in customers.
"When you look at the US version of "SHIFT__" advertisement,"
Phan says, "two of the segments stand out: one where a
double-amputee lady did mountain or rock climbing, and a group of
speech-challenged people communicating effectively with one another
through sign language. In the Far East version, one segment stood
out: where an amputee lady stood on a surfboard and surfed the
waves with a smile that clearly emanated from the inside. Both
advertisements are compelling, simple, high-energy, and yet warm
and moving. The advertisements ask the everyday person, consumers
and shareholders alike, to shift something in their lives, akin to
shifting gears or mindsets.
"The key message&is really about removing stereotypes of
people, and allowing&(them)&to see beyond their own
perceived limitations, clouded judgments, and myopic self-image,
among other things."
So, Phan implies, in addition to selling product, Nissan is also
teaching a moral lesson. Since power of some of the greatest
advertising ever written lies in a surface simplicity that conceals
multiple underlying layers of meaning, all of them open to personal
interpretation, I certainly won't quibble about Dr. Phan's
conjecture. In any case, it's a campaign well-conceived--and a
breed we will hopefully see more of. 
Table Of Contents - March 2004
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