Considering what? Channel 4 Paralympics ad gives two fingers to patronising comments

Gravity, friction and time – they’re forces and measurements we tend to see as pretty immovable, or impossible to ‘overcome’. But not in Channel 4’s new ad campaign for the Paralympics. The bold spot sees GB paralympians using skill, determination and strength to do what all elite sportspeople do – beat the very things we deem impossible. The message stands in stark contrast to comments often directed at paralympians; just how ‘brave’ they are, how incredible they are ‘for someone like that’, or how good they are ‘considering’ their disability, the latter being the backbone of the whole campaign – Considering What?

In research conducted by Channel 4, they found that 60 per cent of people watch the Paralympics to see athletes overcoming their disability, as opposed to 37 per cent watching for exciting sporting competition. “Clearly the idea of a disabled person ‘overcoming’ their disability is problematic, perpetuating the idea that disability is a problem for the individual to ‘get over’, rather than the fact that most problems and inequalities associated with disability are caused by society,” says creative director of 4Creative (Channel 4’s in-house creative agency) Lynsey Atkin. Lynsey recognises that while most comments are “well-intentioned”, it doesn’t mean they aren’t misinformed. “These are world-class athletes, and this is elite level sport,” Lynsey says. “Excellence is excellence, no caveats.”

The campaign sees the 4Creative team move away from the previous tagline, ‘Superhumans’ which has formed their past three Paralympic campaigns, including the Tokyo 2020 games whirlwind ad, which Lynsey broke down at our Nicer Tuesdays event series. This time round, the aim was to turn focus to the audience, while still packing the ad with the irreverence 4Creative work is renowned for. “At 4Creative we try to make it our job to present ideas and genres in alternative and surprising ways,” says Lynsey. “It was always important for us to make a ‘sports ad’ that doesn’t look or feel or smell like a ‘sports ad’.”

So, while the ad does feature shots of paralympians competing (4Creative works alongside Paralympics GB to get a mix of athletes and sports, as well as a mix of well-established names and exciting new talent) its unique edge comes from some other interesting characters. Gravity, friction and time are all personified, each one with an antagonist streak. Gravity is a man with a taunting laugh, goading wheelchair rugby player Aaron Phipps; Friction is a mullet-sporting boy racer, smirking at cyclist Sarah Storey’s skin splicing fall off her bike; while Time is a deadpan spectator, holding up a ticking stopwatch to sprinter Emmanuel Oyinbo-Coker – not letting him forget that every second counts. “The personification of the elements not only creates a clear set of antagonists in the film, but a differentiating visual language – character motifs we could repeat and come back to – that stick in your mind and hopefully feel like something you haven’t seen before in that context,” says Lynsey.

Executing the shoot over four days, one of the greatest challenges was fitting such an ambitious concept – including various locations and stunt work – into the tight timeline. “For instance, we shot at Crystal Palace athletics track (playfully dubbed Crystal Paris on our production) which is really – ahem – ‘different’ to the Paris athletics stadium you eventually see in the ad, so that was a big VFX built by our friends at Time Based Arts,” says Lynsey. What’s more, to create the feeling of gravity taking over, the shoot required a full scale upside-down room, and Aaron Phipps getting involved with some aerial wire work.

The campaign is supported by a series of posters, sporting patronising comments alongside shots of athletes mid-competition, which highlight the absurdity of such remarks. You’ll be able to spot them out and about from 12 July.

Overall, Lynsey and the 4Creative team want the campaign to make people question their “subconscious perceptions” of the Paralympians. But, like any other good sports spot, it also wants to get blood pumping and the fires burning, pepping the up for one of the greatest displays of sporting prowess on Earth.