Only a Real Sigh of Relief, Once Media is Accessible to All

Client: Currys

What if the biggest barrier to an inclusive advertising campaign wasn't the creative, but the media itself?

For Currys, that question exposed a fundamental industry problem. While the brand is committed to helping everyone enjoy amazing technology, much of the UK advertising ecosystem remains inaccessible to audiences with hearing or sight loss. With 75% of UK ads running without subtitles and 90% without audio description, millions of people are routinely excluded from brand communications. Currys saw an opportunity not just to create an inclusive campaign, but to challenge the way media is delivered across the industry. Winning the Channel 4 Diversity Award unlocked over £1 million in media value and provided a platform to prove that accessibility should be built into media delivery, not treated as an optional feature. The strategy centred on a simple but ambitious principle: every placement, on every platform, for every viewer should be fully accessible. Working closely with Channel 4, accessibility was embedded into every asset and placement, ensuring audiences experienced the campaign exactly as intended regardless of platform limitations. The impact extended well beyond a single campaign. The approach directly contributed to Channel 4's Spring 2026 mandate requiring advertisers to supply accessible, closed-captioned creative, helping shift accessibility from best practice to industry standard. Crucially, inclusion also drove commercial success. The campaign delivered Currys' strongest-ever MMM ROI of 23:1, proving that designing for excluded audiences is not only the right thing to do, but a powerful driver of effectiveness.