Claire shares her thought in Campaign on how it’s time for adland to make alt text a first thought, not an afterthought:
Think about your favourite ad campaign. Think about the story, the visuals, the emotion it evokes.
Think about the laughs or the tears, and the action it inspired you to take.
Now imagine if you were excluded from ever experiencing that ad because nobody thought to make sure you could.
That’s the reality two million blind and partially sighted people in the UK live in. They rely on alt text – a description of an online image used by screen readers to help users understand its content – every single day. And yet, alt text descriptions are often either non-existent or of poor quality.
How often do you see posts on Instagram or LinkedIn with alt text in the description? How often do you see it used in online ads? The answer is not enough. If it is there, it’s a boring description thrown together at the last minute – it’s never a creative consideration from the beginning.
The devastating reality is that blind and partially sighted people are often excluded from experiencing the best our industry has to offer. And that’s not good enough.
We’ve been beating the drum about this for a few months. Earlier this year, we launched our "Alt alts" campaign in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People to raise awareness about alt text among sighted audiences and explain how they can use it in their own posts or presentations.
Adland is beginning to listen too. Cannes Lions is launching a whole new award for alt text in 2025 – someone pinch me, please. After 70 years of the festival, we’re finally going to celebrate alt text as much as we do creativity in its other forms.
Because that’s what alt text should be – creative. While we understand concerns that copy must be clear, we believe it shouldn’t be lifeless descriptions – we should be crafting copy that delivers the same emotional impact as the ad itself. As an industry of creative copywriters, we have a unique power to drive change. So alt text is something that should be considered from the very beginning of any brief, not right at the end.
Some people might argue that awards are just optics, but I think those people are missing the point. This industry loves awards, so platforms for recognition are a compelling incentive to help shift the dial.
It was summed up perfectly by Simon Cook, chief executive of Cannes Lions:
“This new category will encourage the industry to write the image descriptions that blind and partially sighted people deserve.”
The more ads that openly include alt text, the quicker it will become the norm for everyone to use it, which is what the "Alt alts" campaign was trying to get to.
Of course, advertising isn’t all about winning awards. Ultimately, it’s a powerful tool for commercial growth. With 2.2 billion blind and partially sighted people around the world, there’s a big commercial incentive to create accessible ads. These people aren’t incapable; they buy food, clothes and technology, just like the rest of us. Missing them is such a wasted opportunity.
This industry is incredible. We have the ability to make a huge difference not just for blind and partially sighted people, but for the brands we serve.
Ensuring as many people as possible are able to experience the brilliant work we create should be a top priority for all brands and agencies. We can start by making alt text a first thought, not an afterthought.