London-based, multibillion-dollar Unilever is the consumer goods company behind many of the world’s most well-known brands. Spanning the marketplace, from food to pharmaceuticals, Unilever products are most likely in your home under trusted names, such as Vaseline, Hellmann’s, Ben & Jerry’s, Knorr, and Lipton.
Research into disability representation in advertising, commissioned by Unilever, revealed traditional media advertising is lagging far behind when it comes to the opportunities creatives with disabilities have. After surveying 50 content creators from the disability community in the U.S., the U.K. and Brazil, they found that 73% consider the radio, TV and film industry exclusionary. Moreover, 90% of those surveyed said people’s attitudes and mindsets directly impact the hiring of more people with disabilities on production sets.
Unilever Believe in Talent Campaign Promises to Hire Creatives with Disabilities
This powerhouse of a consumer goods company is putting its weight behind improving disability representation by hiring people with disabilities, a part of its “Believe in Talent” campaign. These new hires will work behind the cameras on productions over 100,000 euros that promote its many brands. The commitment is to hire at least one crew member with a disability to all worldwide advertising productions. The cost to implement will be over 100,000 euros or about $107,000.
Dana Cadden, Unilever’s global head of advertising production, said “We are committed to changing the way we operate on commercial productions to ensure we harness all the great talent from the disabled community.”
Unilever’s Inclusive Production Toolkit
In addition to their commitment to hiring creatives with disabilities, Unilever released their Inclusive Production Toolkit. Developed in partnership with members of the disability community, it’s free to creative agencies and production companies. This open-source guide defines best practices in behind-the-camera disability-confident inclusive production.
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