If brands were silent during Pride Month this year, their silence during Disability Pride Month was nothing short of deafening.
For those unaware, July was Disability Pride Month—a time to celebrate the largest minority group in the world. Yet, with almost no visible support from brands this year, it’s doubtful many even know. At Campaign, we didn't see a single advertising campaign that acknowledged Disability Pride Month or meaningfully represented disabled people this year.
Disabled individuals remain the world’s largest minority but are still among the most underrepresented across media, advertising, and public life. The business case for inclusivity is clear and compelling, yet the majority of brands continue to overlook this vital audience.
The market size of disabled people, and their friends and family, that brands largely ignore, totals a staggering US$13 trillion annually. In the UK alone, businesses lose about £2 billion each month by failing to meet the needs of disabled consumers. Yet only 3% of adverts globally feature people with disabilities, despite 16% of the world’s population living with significant disability.
In APAC, approximately 1 in 6 people, around 690 million individuals, live with a disability. Still, they are severely underrepresented in advertising, appearing in only 1–4% of campaigns, far below their population share of 15–16%.
But authentic disability representation is about much more than ticking diversity boxes. Agency leaders in the region emphasise how including people with disabilities can deeply enrich both the creative process and storytelling.
“When you involve people with disabilities in creativity, you gain perspectives that challenge conventional thinking, break norms, and add genuine human nuance,” says Merlee Jayme, founder of Jayme HQ, an agency dedicated to creating opportunities for neurodivergent talent. “This leads to storytelling that is not only more inclusive, but also more emotionally intelligent, relevant, and resonant.”
Jayme shares a powerful example from her team’s experience designing a website interface. “One of our creatives on the autism spectrum had a very specific view on the font we chose. Initially, we focused on design trends—sleek, minimal, condensed typefaces. But he pointed out the font felt ‘closed off’ and ‘unwelcoming.’ To him, openness and friendliness could be conveyed with rounded letterforms, wider spacing, and softer edges.”
This insight went beyond design critique; it became a meaningful metaphor. “He helped us realise how typography’s look and feel can reflect a brand’s true intent to welcome everyone. That single perspective reshaped the entire visual tone of the site, making it not only more accessible but also more emotionally inviting to a wider audience. This is the power of authentic representation: it expands creative vision and reminds us that design and storytelling shouldn’t just include people, but belong to them.”
Just as Jayme’s agency is doing, a growing number of changemakers in APAC are driving meaningful progress in representation and inclusion. Campaign recently spoke with four such advocates who are reshaping disability inclusion in advertising and media, proving that change is both possible and urgent.
Simone Eyles
Founder of Disinfluencer
Simone Eyles is on a mission to shatter the invisibility cloak cloaking disability representation in advertising and media. As the founder of Disinfluencer, a ground-breaking initiative and dedicated stock library championing authentic imagery of disabled people, Eyles is leveraging both her professional experience and personal journey as the mother of a disabled teenager to create lasting change.
Eyles’ journey began less with grand strategy than with urgency and frustration. “I was just tired of seeing disability represented in the media through a lens of neglect or advocacy. Now, don't get me wrong, we need that, but there's light to that shade,” Eyles explains. As a former graphic designer and marketer, she recognised not only what was missing, but also understood how to fill the void. “One in five people have a disability. Yet you never see that represented in the media as the hero content.” Her initial efforts to create content for brands, expecting polite rejections, instead found a groundswell of enthusiasm. “They were all supposed to say no, but they said yes. And then I went to some pretty big brands too and it snowballed from there."
Disinfluencer’s core offering is its inclusive stock library, which is carefully curated with premium, single-use, high-quality photos of people with disabilities in everyday scenarios. Brands like Tourism Australia, Canberra Airport, Birdsnest, Verto, Happy Hairbrush and Housing Hub have all used the images. Eyles is proud to offer something genuinely different. “We acknowledge disabilities. We don't think disability is a dirty word, but we don’t categorise or define someone by their disability. We are creating content of people doing their thing, just like any other stock library, except it’s authentic and true to who they are.” All participants are paid, and the experience is designed to be empowering as well as practical. "It’s a really cool experience... everyone wins, you know?"
Yet, Eyles is quick to acknowledge the barriers that persist. The fear of getting it wrong is a key barrier to inclusion, with some brands even reluctant to say “disability.” While brands feel overwhelmed and unsure where to start, people with disabilities just want them to take action. She stresses that inclusion doesn’t need to be perfect; what matters is beginning the conversation. "The solution is for brands to engage directly with the community, asking how to represent and include them. Being open and willing to listen can lead to surprisingly positive results."
She doesn’t shy away from “awkward conversations” with brands, pushing for not just visibility, but genuine understanding. “I try to educate people... you don’t know what you don’t know,” she says. “Unfortunately, people with disabilities don’t have a voice... It’s a hard job. Having a child with a disability is not hard because he is disabled, it’s because of the world we live in.”
Her motivation remains both personal and universal, to create pathways for disabled creatives and to help brands bridge the gap between intent and impact. As she puts it, “Disinfluencer breaks down those barriers for people with disabilities who have dreams of being creatives, and for brands who want to be truly inclusive.”
Recently, Eyles has launched the Disinfluencer 100: APAC Edition, a first-of-its-kind list celebrating 100 individuals and businesses across APAC who are driving meaningful change in disability inclusion and accessibility. She has also recently (and quietly) launched an agency arm of Disinfluencer, offering inclusive stock library specifically for agencies to use in things like storyboarding, pitching, or campaign development.
Paul Nunnari
CEO of Inclusively Made
Paul Nunnari’s career is a testament to the power of lived experience driving industry transformation. A former Paralympian who has represented Australia on the global stage, Nunnari now leads Inclusively Made, a pioneering venture that seeks to embed authentic disability inclusion throughout media and advertising. His mission is to ensure disabled people are not just included for show, but are truly part of every narrative and creative process.
“Inclusively Made is fundamentally about a framework,” Nunnari explains. “A framework’s been developed over almost 20 years around what constitutes an inclusive production. That means concept development, casting, workplace adjustments—every step, right through to broadcast.” Unlike many initiatives that address only front-of-camera diversity, Nunnari’s comprehensive model tackles the entire production ecosystem, minimising tokenism and offering brands a global standard. “The framework is almost like a how-to guide. There’s nothing like it globally.”
Behind this framework is a broader vision of equity. Nunnari is frank about the current representational gap. “People with disability represent 20% of our population, yet in front of the camera, it’s 3%, and behind the camera, it’s less than 1%. We want those numbers to reflect the broader community.” For him, meaningful change must reach both those who appear onscreen and those who help create the stories.
Nunnari’s approach isn’t abstract—his work with major broadcasters, including Channel 9’s Paralympic coverage, has set new standards. “Their biggest concern was ensuring that they got the broadcast right—so people who are blind, Deaf, or have low vision could still engage with the broadcast just like anyone else.” His collaborations with companies such as Disney and Netflix have made the framework a reality across continents.
His personal journey underpins his professional drive. “I'm a person with a disability, a wheelchair user, and when I was young, I never saw myself reflected in the content I saw. And if it was represented, it was always about how bad disability was. I wanted to change that narrative and this was the way to do it.”
Nunnari’s ultimate vision reaches far beyond compliance; it’s about opportunity and imagination. “I want to see the next Dr. Evil be a wheelchair user—not because the wheelchair is part of the joke, but just because disabled people exist in every role in life, including villains, heroes, and everything in between.”
Tiffany Yu
CEO & founder, Diversability
Tiffany Yu has dedicated much of her life to transforming disability from a misunderstood identity into a source of pride and empowerment. Her journey began in 2009 at Georgetown University, where she created Diversability, the school's first-ever disability student club, as a way to build community and reclaim her narrative after becoming disabled herself. Reflecting on that decision, Yu says, “I didn’t see spaces where disability was celebrated or where disabled people were viewed as powerful, creative, or whole. I wanted to change that and build a space that centres disability pride, amplifies our leadership, and reimagines what an inclusive world can look like.”
What started as a student initiative has blossomed into a vibrant global community of over 80,000 members, rooted in disability leadership and collaboration. Yu emphasises the importance of creating a space that is “entirely disabled-run and led,” where all contributors are fairly compensated. “Empowerment means being seen, valued, and resourced, and we try to model that at every level". This approach not only nurtures individual voices but challenges traditional notions of leadership within and beyond the disability community.
Central to Yu's work is shifting societal mindsets from stigma to pride, a difficult task in a culture deeply entrenched in ableism. She observes that even within the disability community, “many of us internalise the idea that our worth is tied to productivity or that we must ‘overcome’ our disabilities.” Yu's book, The Anti-Ableist Manifesto, directly addresses these challenges by advocating for unlearning harmful stereotypes and fostering a disability-inclusive world. Outside the community, she stresses the need to “move beyond narratives of pity or inspiration to affirm our rights, joy, and leadership.”
Authenticity in disability representation is another core priority for Diversability. Yu outlines a key insight from their recent partnership with Gauge Research. “To involve and compensate disabled people at every stage of a campaign.” She adds, “Authentic representation happens when disabled people are empowered to tell our own stories, not just included in someone else’s.” The organisation also centres intersectionality, recognising that disability intersects with other identities in complex ways.
Looking ahead, Yu's ambitions remain expansive. Building on the momentum of her manifesto, Diversability recently launched a self-paced online course on disability inclusion designed for allies and organisations. Her vision is bold. “We want to be part of a global movement that fosters more respect, dignity, and joy for the disability community, and helps build a world where disability is not just included but celebrated.”
Ci En Lee
Media strategist at Publicis Groupe Singapore
For Ci En Lee, the importance of representation in media goes far beyond box-ticking. “You can’t be what you can’t see,” he says, reflecting a belief born from both personal experience and professional conviction. “Seeing people that look like you, or relating to characters, and being able to connect to a reality or culture or experience that is not commonly shared by others can be very powerful and healing.” In Lee’s view, advertising is not just about selling products, but also shaping society’s perceptions and opening up space for empathy and understanding.
Lee brings both strategic insight and advocacy passion to his role, particularly around disability inclusion. Diagnosed with achondroplasia, a form of short-limb dwarfism, Lee has often found himself at the intersection of curiosity and discomfort among colleagues. “Some colleagues didn’t know how to interact with me, whether to treat me as a younger brother or as a fellow peer and colleague; they had a sense of cautious hesitancy… These barriers gradually disappeared as they got to know me for who I am, beyond my height—as someone with a lively, cheerful and playful personality, often with a tinge of mischief, who is equally ambitious and thinks deeply as a media professional.” Lee’s experiences highlight that, while the industry is broadly open-minded, “social barriers persist,” especially at the individual level.
But it’s not enough for inclusion to be a mere formality or act of political correctness. “There needs to be more openness to see and treat disabled people equally. Not out of charity, but by fully understanding the labels and stereotypes that prevent disabled people from participating and functioning in society,” Lee says, calling for genuine attitudinal change.
Lee is hopeful that we’ll reach a point when disability inclusion in advertising will be constant, and will not feel 'token'. "Persons with disabilities want to be seen doing very ordinary things, the things everyone does, because we are just as human. We live, work and play just like everyone else. Yes, we may have to be slightly more resilient to overcome the odds and never give up, but we do not live in a fairytale or have superpowers."
Lee’s advocacy is grounded in tangible action. “My goal has been to push for more representation of persons with disabilities in media, and I am thankful I have overdelivered—from appearing on national television in a documentary about my life with achondroplasia, to co-publishing a semi-fictional book based on my childhood years, to my recent essay on ‘woke’ marketing.” Yet Lee’s ambitions don’t stop there. “There are a couple of projects that I’m working on, so watch this space! After all, life is short, so am I. Let’s do something meaningful together.”
These are just a few of the changemakers pushing for better disability representation. Are you in Asian advertising or marketing with your own perspective? We want to hear from you. Contact us to share your story.
