Josh Loebner, the global head of inclusive design at VML, works from a strategic planning and creative perspective to show that accessibility can be a gateway to creativity in advertising
From smart devices to inclusive advertising, Josh Loebner discusses how brands can make the world more accessible
March 20, 2024 | By Matt Miller, Sr. Copywriter
“Alexa, what am I holding?” Josh Loebner asks the Echo Show 10 in his kitchen. It’s a jar of kalamata olives, the device identifies. In the living room, he and his wife sit down to unwind with some TV. “Alexa, play The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” he tells the Fire Cube remote. The streaming device plays the acclaimed show and uses audio descriptions to narrate what’s happening on-screen: “Midge slumps down on the couch.”
Loebner, the global head of inclusive design at the WPP company VML, is blind and uses Alexa-enabled devices, among others, for greater independence. He enjoys travelling and exploring new destinations, cooking with family and swimming in the summer.
Loebner describes himself as an inquisitive person. He’s a problem solver. Throughout his life, technology has improved—from books on tape to computers and connected devices—to help him satiate that curiosity, continue his education, and navigate everyday challenges. More recently, Amazon devices have helped him work, navigate the world, and enjoy his hobbies. With the Blink doorbell, for example, Loebner knows when the family is getting packages delivered and who’s at the door. Loebner explains how difficult reading a clock can be—even with a large-print digital wall clock, he would need to squint or get really close to read it. With Alexa, he can ask the device the time.
Alexa also aids his love of cooking—helping him hear recipes, make grocery lists, set timers, control the microwave, and more.
“The kitchen is an important place for me. The Alexa device really is part of that positive kitchen experience,” Loebner says. “To be independent in the kitchen, it makes me feel fulfilled.”
Loebner knows firsthand how important it is for brands to make life more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities. “Sometimes we feel segmented, separated, and othered,” he says, “because some of those things that may seem easy for so many other people who don’t have disabilities can create barriers, can create challenges.”
How brands can be more inclusive
Disability and accessibility aren’t just part of Loebner’s personal life—they’re part of his professional life, too. Early on, he realized that disability and accessibility weren’t always considered central to advertising campaigns and marketing. He completed a Ph.D. focused specifically on disability inclusion, as well as accessibility in advertising. Now, in his role as global head of inclusive design, he works from a strategic planning and creative perspective to show that accessibility can be a gateway to creativity in advertising. This can be done through better representation on-screen and behind the camera, giving people with disabilities a seat at the table within companies, innovating and creating campaigns that are more accessible and inclusive for all.
“From my perspective, particularly, as a disabled professional,” Loebner says, “focusing on bringing more accessibility, and disability inclusion and representation into advertising, it’s something that can profoundly change, really how society thinks about people with disabilities.”
As he explains, media representation is relatively low when it comes to showcasing people on-screen with disabilities in an equitable and genuine way. And advertising can be a powerful place to authentically show the stories of people with disabilities across streaming, tablets, televisions, and more.
“For example, every day, I’m disabled, and my wife is not disabled, and my kids are not disabled, but we connect in a way that authentically works for us. And those are things that we want to show on-screen—those typical slices of life where people with disabilities are just part of every day,” he says. “When I see people with disabilities represented in the media, I see somebody else wonderfully gets it. They know that people with disabilities are part of the fabric of our society. Putting them on-screen shows me that people are listening, people are taking action, and people are authentically welcoming them.”
On advertising, Loebner says, “It’s one of those spaces and places that we can tell stories, authentically to start to welcome more people with disabilities in an accessible way into people’s living rooms in their advertising they still see on their televisions, on their streaming devices, and in so many other ways.”
To create advertising with more disability representation, Loebner says brands can work to authentically show people who have disabilities on-screen. One way to do this, according to Loebner, is by ensuring people with disabilities have a voice throughout the creative process, to ensure that campaigns are more welcoming to them. According to the Amazon Ads 2023 Higher Impact survey, 68% of global consumers say they want to see more diversity in advertising.
While media representation can engage communities at the top of the marketing funnel, Loebner says brands need to be mindful of the larger customer journey. Brands can think about engaging consumers on the digital shelf through accessible, curated packaging, apps, email marketing, texting, and other experiences. According to Loebner, people with disabilities have $13 trillion in disposable income across the globe, and “we want to be just as connected to those brands and spend our money with those brands that do welcome disability.”
Taking action on a broader scale
Beyond media representation, marketers also need to prioritize accessibility through policy change, advocacy, workforce recruitment, and ongoing end-to-end commitments, he says. This means that companies can put an emphasis on recruiting people with disabilities into their workforce, and job titles that focus on disability and inclusion as part of marketing and advertising teams.
As an example, Loebner explains that commercials can incorporate audio descriptions so blind or low-vision people can hear what is taking place. Captioning allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing, among others, including non-disabled viewers to read what is happening in a scene. “Inclusivity really is that 360-degree view of everyone being at the table or being part of a conversation—those that aren’t disabled and those that are disabled,” he says.
For people with disabilities, advertising can be a powerful fulcrum for change, Loebner says.
“Brands definitively have a responsibility to create inclusive campaigns,” he says. “Brands now have opportunities to change society in a way that is significantly important.”
Whether it’s helping disabled people navigate the kitchen using new technology or taking care to make messaging more accessible and inclusive, brands can take steps to improve the way they communicate with consumers.
“For me in my lifetime to see what’s advanced from a technology perspective and a corporate perspective,” Loebner says, “whether we’re talking about Amazon holistically, or the Alexa devices, be north stars for accessibility and disability inclusion in their devices, in their marketing, it’s just amazing.”
“It’s critical and important.”