Learning articles
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Making TV ads accessible: subtitles
Read more about "Making TV ads accessible: subtitles"Advertising should be for everyone, but most ads are not fully accessible to the audience they are reaching. Most TV ads are not currently designed with accessibility in mind or don’t have access services like subtitles or audio description to help make them more accessible.
RNID estimates that 1 in 3 adults in the UK are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus. That’s the equivalent of 18 million adults who can’t easily access or understand TV ads.
The easiest way to help make your ad more accessible to this audience is to add subtitles (sometimes called closed captions).
In this deck, find out about subtitle capability on UK TV, and how to easily add subtitles to your ad to maximise your TV campaign's impact.
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Why Disability Must Be at the Heart of Inclusive Advertising
Read more about "Why Disability Must Be at the Heart of Inclusive Advertising"There’s no true diversity in advertising without disability. Despite making up 22% of the UK population, disabled people remain vastly underrepresented in marketing campaigns—appearing in just 0.06% of UK ads.
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Exploring AI-generated audio description: can emerging technologies help expand access to broadcast media?
Read more about "Exploring AI-generated audio description: can emerging technologies help expand access to broadcast media?"As part of our long-standing commitment to improving media accessibility, RNIB commissioned a research study to evaluate the feasibility of using artificial intelligence (AI) to generate audio description (AD) for television content. The aim: to understand whether today’s advanced AI models—particularly those combining video scene analysis and language generation—could help expand AD provision across genres, formats, and platforms.
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Paramount and UK Cinemas Advance Accessibility with Widespread Captioned Screenings
Read more about "Paramount and UK Cinemas Advance Accessibility with Widespread Captioned Screenings"A significant initiative led by Paramount is enhancing the cinema experience for audiences who are deaf or have hearing loss across the United Kingdom. The film studio is placing accessibility at the forefront by ensuring the first UK previews for its slate of upcoming blockbusters are captioned.The move applied to Paramount's major recent releases, including Transformers One, Smile 2, Gladiator II, Sonic The Hedgehog 3, September 5, and Novocaine. This commitment means that the very first opportunity for audiences to see these films was an accessible one.Major UK cinema chains, including Cineworld, Showcase, and Vue, have thrown their support behind the initiative. Taking the effort a step further, they also committed to providing a captioned screening of the latest Mission: Impossible film every day for the first nine days of its release. -
With Not For and VML Centred Accessibility by Embedding Inclusivity at Every Touchpoint
Read more about "With Not For and VML Centred Accessibility by Embedding Inclusivity at Every Touchpoint"Kelly Gordon, co-founder of With Not For, and VML’s EP, Jamie Gazard, discuss making a spot about communication tech starring a deaf actress that made inclusivity a priority from ideation to production
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Channel 4 to mandate captions for all ads in ‘UK broadcasting first’
Read more about "Channel 4 to mandate captions for all ads in ‘UK broadcasting first’"Channel 4 is believed to be the first UK broadcaster to require all adverts on its channel to come with closed captions for deaf and disabled viewers, when the mandate comes into force from spring 2026.
The commitment was announced on Wednesday, when it opened up entries for the 10th year of its Diversity in Advertising Award. -
Channel 4 Sales Deepens Accessibility Commitment as it launches Landmark 10th Diversity in Advertising Award
Read more about "Channel 4 Sales Deepens Accessibility Commitment as it launches Landmark 10th Diversity in Advertising Award"- Building on the Diversity in Advertising Awards’ ten-year legacy, the 2025/26 edition seeks ‘Inclusive by Design’ briefs
- Channel 4 Sales today confirms that from spring 2026 it will be mandatory for all ads to be supplied with closed captions
- In addition, it announces commitments, including for all sponsorship idents to be inclusive by design, and make subtitles standard for all creative partnerships
Channel 4 Sales today launches the tenth edition of its annual Diversity in Advertising Awards, which has gifted £10 million in advertising space to campaigns promoting diversity and inclusion since 2015.
For 2025, the brief remains 'Inclusive by Design,' urging the industry to embed inclusive practices into creative development and remove barriers to engagement with TV advertising.
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Channel 4 to introduce captions mandate on ads
Read more about "Channel 4 to introduce captions mandate on ads"Broadcaster moves to improve the accessibility of ads ahead of 2025 Diversity in Advertising Award
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ISBA Announces Winners of 2025 ISBA President’s Award
Read more about "ISBA Announces Winners of 2025 ISBA President’s Award"The announcement was made at the 2025 ISBA President’s Lunch which this year also celebrates ISBA’s 125 year anniversary.
ISBA president Pete Markey has unveiled the eight winners of the 2025 President’s Awards. The announcement was made at the 2025 ISBA President’s Lunch which this year also celebrates ISBA’s 125 year anniversary.
Each winner was selected due to their support for ISBA and their significant contribution to its key priorities.
One winner was a committed member of the Ad Accessibility Network. Congratulations Amy!
Amy Nicklin, Senior Brand Manager, P&G
Amy is a passionate and vocal advocate for accessible advertising within P&G and the wider industry. Amy has been a committed member of the Ad Accessibility Network and has been a catalyst for real change.
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Inclusive Marketing and Communication Guide
Read more about "Inclusive Marketing and Communication Guide"In this guide, we address diversity from the perspective of our target audience and how they consume content so that it reaches them appropriately.
If you're involved in a brand's communications and marketing strategy , create social media content , plan your company's advertising, work for an audiovisual production company, or organize events... This is your guide!
Diversity is becoming increasingly important, and ILUNION is committed to diversity and inclusion every day. Download the Inclusive Marketing and Communication Guide today and discover all the keys to creating accessible content.
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European Accessibility Act: What it means for marketers
Read more about "European Accessibility Act: What it means for marketers"The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is an EU Directive aiming to improve the accessibility of key products and services for people with disabilities across the EU. It applies to a range of physical and digital products and services, including computers and operating systems, smartphones, TV equipment related to digital television services, access to audio-visual media services such as television broadcast and related consumer equipment, banking services, e-books, and e-commerce, among others. As of 28 June 2025, all products and services offered in the EU will be required to meet accessibility standards. Products and services already on the market before June 2025 must comply by 30 June 2030.
This 2-page guide outlines the requirements, how it applies to marketing, implementation, links to key resources and an annex detailing differences by member state.
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2025 Global Ad Accessibility Report
Read more about "2025 Global Ad Accessibility Report"Captions, audio description and other inclusive features do more than tick a compliance box—they turn missed impressions into meaningful results. Brands that caption see higher watch-times, stronger recall and instant access to the 1.3 billion people often left out of the conversation.
Explore the 2025 Global Ad Accessibility Report—the only global report tracking accessibility adoption across 100+ markets and 11.8 million ad deliveries. Discover who’s winning with accessibility, where gaps still cost reach and how you can turn inclusion into a growth strategy.
What you’ll find inside:
- Year-on-year trends across 11.8 million ad deliveries, revealing shifts in brand behavior, broadcaster support and regulatory pressure
- Actionable insights from 15 key global markets, showing where accessibility is driving real results and where brands are missing out
- Practical benchmarks to help brands, agencies and broadcasters identify gaps, unlock growth and prioritize inclusive media delivery at scale
Ready to turn accessibility into a competitive advantage?
Download the report and see where your next opportunity lies.