October 3, 2025

An Examination of Portrayal of Disability in Brand Ads

Key Points

Using disabled models in brand ads improves customer-brand relationships and boosts inclusivity.
Personal attitudes towards disability can moderate the effectiveness of disabled models in brand advertising.
Brands are encouraged to challenge societal prejudice by featuring diverse models, including those with disabilities.
The research underscores the importance of inclusivity in fighting stigma associated with disability in media.

Abstract

This research explores why marketers can utilize disabled models to their advantage. Although brand inclusivity has attracted some attention, much is still unknown. The current research addresses this gap by establishing that using disabled brand models can lead to higher customer-brand relationships and also explores when it could potentially backfire by establishing that the personal attitude towards disability could moderate this main effect. The findings will help brands to be more open to including diverse models that do not exactly fit “the ideal” and fighting the prevailing prejudice towards disabled people in society. Representing them in their advertisements and online brand communications can be an effective way of fighting the stigma surrounding this issue.

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