The International Day of Persons with Disabilities – an annual celebration on December 3 promoted by the United Nations since 1992 – aims to promote the rights and well-being of people with disabilities. disabled in all spheres of society and development. This year’s theme is “Transformative Solutions for Inclusive Development: The Role of Innovation in Powering an Accessible and Equitable World”. In the same vein, Apple has launched a new advertising campaign with the aim of reinforcing disabled users.
The new ad highlights the various accessibility features of Apple devices, including vision, mobility, auditory and cognitive accessibility features. “Accessibility is a long-standing value at Apple, infused into everything we do. This new video aims to raise awareness of new innovations in accessibility while sharing the authentic experiences of people who are visually impaired, hard of hearing, disabled or cognitive disabled,” the tech giant said in a press release.
The 2 minute and 20 second video, titled The besttells the journey of seven people during their days, creating art, spending time with family and going to work or school. In doing so, they use Apple’s suite of accessibility features available on their iPhones, Apple Watch and Mac products, which “allow them to break down barriers and move around the world with more independence and confidence” .
Some of the accessibility features shown in the video include: Detection mode which allows blind or visually impaired users to navigate doors, objects and people in their environment; sound recognition alerts for the deaf or hard of hearing to a range of sounds, including a baby’s cry or a doorbell; voice control which allows people to use Apple devices only by voice; AssistiveTouch that creates more opportunities to engage with technology for those with upper body member differences.
Directed by Apple’s in-house team, the short film is captioned for the blind and visually impaired. The track “I am the Greatest”, produced by Spinifex Gum, has lyrics derived from the speeches of Mohamed Ali. It is performed by the all-female, Indigenous Australian musical collective Marliya Choir.
Apple’s new ad comes at a time when the ad industry is struggling with the representation of the disability community. According to Nielsen’s 2021 Ad Intel report, 26% of Americans have disabilities, yet they are only seen in 1% of primetime television commercials. Another report from the broadcaster Channel 4 shows a similar trend in the UK where around 22% of the population is disabled but finds a place in only 4% of TV commercials.
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