Disabled entrepreneurs back campaign to change attitudes
Three disabled entrepreneurs are spearheading a new media campaign aimed at changing attitudes to disability.
The business owners have provided the voices of three new characters from the popular Creature Comforts brand for a campaign named Creature Discomforts.
Among those taking part are Debbie Reynolds who despite having impaired hearing and leaving school with no qualifications set up the School of Sign Language in 2006 which had so far helped 5,000 children.
Joining Reynolds is Chris Davis, proprietor of Wicked Waists and Adrian Carter, founder of Carter's Home Cooking.
The characters, which will appear in adverts on ITV, online and at bus stops from next Wednesday, discuss the issues that affect their lives.
The animation featuring Davis and Carter, for example, highlights attitudes towards disabled people in education.
It opens with a young owl in a wheelchair, who says: "It took me a little while to build up the courage to get back into the gist of going into education. Because you're interacting again isn't it, you're back out there with the public."
He continues: "People look at you like, ooh, he's in a wheelchair, he's at Uni, like. Good on ya mate, you know what I mean."
The animation then cuts to a blind chameleon in a classroom who comments: "They can be quite judgemental about your disabilities. But then the number of people who've told me 'you can't do that', it really annoys me. Especially seeing as I can do it better than them sometimes."
The campaign, backed by Leonard Cheshire Disability and Barclays, also promotes Ready to Start, a three year programme which will help more than 600 disabled people realise their dream of running a successful business.
Bryan Dutton, director general at Leonard Cheshire Disability, said: "Disabled people experience unnecessary barriers which are created largely through ignorance. The public's low expectations, especially of their ability to pursue education or a career, play a big part in this.
"We want people to change the way they see disability, to think and act differently and to engage with disabled people in all aspects of life."
The launch of the advertisements follows the recent release of a new report which claimed that if more disabled people were encouraged to become entrepreneurs the economy would be boosted to the tune of £2.1bn.
According to the study by the University of Salford and the Northwest Regional Development Agency, there are potentially 14,000 prospective disabled business owners in the North West alone who given the right amount of assistance and encouragement, would set up their own companies.
Researchers said business support agencies need to do more to promote self-employment and entrepreneurship among disabled people.
For a preview of the Creature Discomforts campaign click here.
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BusinessZONE - 3-Jul-2008
Categories: News
Story read: 1532
