4Sales extends £1m airtime giveaway in 2017 to increase ads diversity

15 November 2016

Channel 4 today announced at its Upfronts 2017 event that it will give away £1m of commercial airtime in 2017 to encourage a broader spectrum of diversity in TV adverts and build upon the momentum of creativity in advertising inspired by the 2016 Paralympics Games. 4Sales will additionally lead the creation of an advertising industry Diversity Task Force alongside the new airtime competition to help facilitate the changes the media industry recognises it must make to better reflect the diversity of the UK.

The new commitments follow the success of this year’s Superhumans Wanted £1m airtime competition to inspire advertisers and agencies to feature disability in their TV ad campaigns which saw Maltesers’ winning ad campaign launch to critical acclaim, the Paralympics themed and signed ad breaks and Channel’s 4’s We’re The Superhumans marketing film. Next year, the £1m commercial airtime give away will encourage the industry to feature a much broader range of diversity in ad creative, in parallel with its existing 360° Diversity Charter focused on off and on-screen editorial diversity to 2020.

Extending Channel 4’s commitment to working with its indie production partners to improve diversity across its editorial output, 4Sales will also lead the creation of an industry Diversity Task Force to address the challenges and champion the opportunities of greater diversity in advertising, led by Matt Salmon, Head of Agency & Client Sales at Channel 4. The task force was inspired by an industry roundtable event hosted by Maisie McCabe, UK Editor of Campaign magazine at Channel 4 last month, which saw senior advertising industry figures come together to discuss the wider media industry’s shared ambition to improve diverse representation in ad campaigns.

Jonathan Allan, Sales Director at Channel 4, said: “Diversity is an essential ingredient of the most creative campaigns, as proven by Maltesers’ winning ads which not only got people talking, but Mars have revealed that they tested better than any other advertising tested for six years. As a diversity champion, we want to use the 4 brand to help encourage more advertisers realise the creative and commercial power of diversity driven ad campaigns – beyond the Paralympics. We got the ball rolling this year and we want to continue to drive this momentum and help the UK lead the way in changing how advertising looks in the future.”

Further details on commercial diversity initiatives will be shared early next year.

ENDS

 

Notes to editors

About Channel 4’s Superhumans Wanted

Superhumans Wanted extends Channel 4’s far-reaching commitments to improving diversity on/off screen in its editorial content – using its unique remit to work with the advertising industry to help commercial TV airtime better reflect diversity in Britain today, using disability as a starting point.

Channel 4 has a strong track record in championing diversity in its own marketing campaigns with the launch of the multi-award winning Meet The Superhumans ad for the London 2012 Paralympic games which helped to challenge perceptions around disability – and the follow up We’re The Superhumans ad for the Rio 2016 Paras achieving millions of views across All 4 and social media platforms in its launch week alone. During the Rio Paralympic Games it partnered with seven advertisers including Allianz Insurance, British Gas, Flash Cleaner, Maltesers, Nationwide, O2 and Samsung to deliver the most accessible ad break in history with each ad fully signed by deaf artist and actor David Ellington – and a fully signed and audio described version of the break available on All 4’s Watch Live feature.

The industry response to the £1m Superhumans Wanted initiative was overwhelming with almost 90 entries whittled down to a strong shortlist of eight big brands and agencies including: Amazon and Lucky Generals; Barclays and BBH London; Dove and Ogilvy; H&M and adam&eveDDB; Lloyds Bank and adam&eveDDB: Lynx and TMW Unlimited; Malteasers and AMV BBDO; and Purdey’s and iris Worldwide.

Winners Mars Chocolate UK and AMV BBDO launched a new trio of Maltesers signature ‘look on the light side’ ads exclusively in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony on 7th September to much critical acclaim.