"Considering What? (with Audio Description)"

11 July 2024

2 mins 20s

Listening and reframing.

There cannot be a greater challenge faced by any creative department in the world than that faced by 4Creative every four years when it's time to create a new trailer for the Paralympics. This is the fourth instalment since the audacious debut film of 2012 introduced the Superhumans, and – despite everything achieved by its earliest predecessor – it represents a significant rejection of its message.

The new film, by Steve Rogers, has had to meet separate, almost contradictory, challenges. It obviously has to match the impact and significance of the first three films, but – more importantly – it has to take account of the shifting relationship between Channel 4's communication around the Paralympics and what disabled people say about the way they are depicted.

The shift in public attitudes to disability provoked by the original Superhumans film was truly remarkable, and despite the subsequent recognition of its insensitivity, it remains a landmark piece of communication. It not only set the tone for Channel 4's Paralympics coverage, it prompted a broad rethink of how disability is perceived. Its problem was a level of overstatement which, in the words of disability groups, created a "Victorian freak show" vibe. This was clearly problematic, and Channel 4 have acknowledged they were too slow to listen to this complaint.

They are unquestionably listening now.

Rogers's film represents the apotheosis of the broadcaster's determination to deliver a message which retains the impact of its predecessors while taking into account the feedback received over the years from those represented by the these films... not just athletes, but disabled people in general. (It is not for us to say whether or not this film has succeeded in the latter part of its mission, and we will listen keenly – as will Channel 4 – to discover whether or not it has.)

As to the film itself, it is astonishing. Focusing on the sporting obstacles faced by the athletes training for the Paris games, it is gritty as hell, realistically depicting the hardships which need to be overcome. But, just as importantly, it confronts the condescension of able-bodied people as they watch, opening with a discomforting image of a shirtless man holding a pint of beer as he laughs endlessly at what he sees on television, it confronts the audience by questioning their motives when they watch the Paralympics, and plainly aims to adjust their approach. This must make this one of the most ambitious pieces of communication ever attempted by the advertising industry, and DAVID hopes, as Channel 4 undoubtedly do, that it is wildly successful in every possible way, but, most of all, in satisfying disabled groups that they have fully taken their feedback into account.

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