Deaf Mom
Deaf Mom
Chicagoland
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People with Disabilities in Commercials are Frowned Upon

Posted: 12/23/2008 at 08:00 PM

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I'm shaking my head over this one.

While humming through Twitter this evening, I started to notice a couple of tweets with the following link:

Helping the Deaf and Blind Buy From Us

"Are we supposed now to spend more with retailers who show empathy for the deaf and blind?" Tom Steinert-Threlkeld wondered. "Christmas certainly is a time for charity and good will toward fellow man and woman. But now it’s getting mixed into commercial messages that are supposed to make you feel better about buying from one corporation than another."

In his blog post, Tom pointed to two commercials, one from Best Buy showing an installer helping a legally blind person with his brand new TV and showing him how to use the remote by counting buttons.  The other commercial was the Kay Jewelry commercial that I previously wrote about.

Whoa, empathy? Charity? 

But wait, let's take a hop over to TallJim.com where he explains more about the Best Buy commercial and why it riles him up:

The Best Buy Commercial

At first, the question is centered around the reason why Best Buy is sending out a guy to install a TV.  If there are sighted people in the house, why don't they install the TV, TallJim wonders. Then TallJim gives Best Buy a whip lashing:

"This just baffles me that they are trying to sell products by using this example. I know that legally blind does not mean completely blind. They are just very vague about it and really try to posture themselves as humanitarians when their job is to install home theaters. It is a shame when shallow commercialism is hidden behind what would otherwise be honorable endeavors."

At this point, I want to chime in.  To me, this commercial shows that Best Buy is showing that they have installers who work with their customers with disabilities so that they get the best experience possible out of their products. 

But TallJim wasn't quite finished when he asked:

"Did anyone think of just getting a radio for the guy?

Are they selling surround sound stereos to deaf people?"

After the initial post, TallJim added a new one:

The Best Buy Commercial Addendum

Best Buy gets tied to the whipping post even more:

So, the thing to be taken from that commercial is not that they sold a TV to a blind man. I am sure that is something that has happened and will continue to happen all over this country. It is Best Buy’s exploitation of the installation as a feat of excellence. As if their extra time teaching the man to use his remotes makes them the better choice for you when you buy a TV. Sell your wares, make your profit, but don’t expect me to believe you when your commercials portray you as saints.

Well, guess what, TallJim-- yes, when a company takes extra time to accommodate people with disabilities with their products, you can betcha that I'm going to take extra notice of this company and send my dollars their way.

The hubby and I are in the process of finishing our basement and one of the things on our list is...surround sound via home theatre speakers.

I'll be buying mine at Best Buy.

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  • ZenMonkey wrote on Dec 23, 2008 at 8:28 PM
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    Considering the lather your first link got me into, I think I'll take a pass on heading over to TallJim.com! In my communication with Tom Steinert-Threkeld, he indicated that his intention wasn't to offend but rather to point out that showing disabled people should be more common in advertising. I didn't get this point from his post but I certainly agree with it. Have you posted this link in the comments on those blog posts?
  • DeafnOkay wrote on Dec 23, 2008 at 11:36 PM
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    I agree with ZenMonkey that if the point was to say more disabilities should be show, I didn't get it. Even tried reading between the lines and that point didn't come through. This is actually a lesson in ignorance. It shows how someone who has not lost or missed a sense perceived the limitations, incorrectly I might add. Each of us with disabilities have our own set of limitations unique to the differences in our bodies. For him to lump us all in the "can't do" category is sad. It always reminds me that so many people have preconceived notions of what we CAN'T do before they listen or observe or even, heaven forbid, ASK me what I feel I can and can't do. Personally, I'd prefer that, though I know this is also a point of contention for some. They don't want to be asked, but if this is a person's first encounter with a deaf, blind, wheel chaired/walkered person, they don't have the experience to understand how to behave or what to do. They need help and may ask things in clumsy ways. I think TallJim or the other poster if not the same person, needs to go back and rework their position. May they get a bit of enlightenment along the way.
  • earthabunny wrote on Dec 24, 2008 at 1:00 AM
    I'm a best buy supporter not just because they are the home town company but because of their involvement in the community. It also helps that my brother works @ corporate. The ad is just another reason beyond all of the PWDs that they employ. I remember the first positive ad with a PWD that touched me. I blogged about it, told all of my friends, recommended the ad for awards, and when it came time to purchase a sink & faucet I went with Kohler. Check out the ad yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1vuWL0_wMA Here is a description by a writer who covered this trend: "Guy and girl enjoying themselves at a party. They're good looking, hot, in their 20s. Guy excuses himself and makes his way through the crowd. Oh, but wait. He's got a white cane; he must be blind. As he begins to wash his hands in the bathroom, he gently feels around the sink and faucet. Back with his date, he tells her, "You should see the bathroom." That's a 30-second television commercial for Kohler, which, it would seem, makes bathroom fixtures so unusual you don't need to see them to appreciate them." Kohler received an award from the AFB for the 2003 ad. I hope that Kay commercial wins community awards as well. For me the ad was just as transformative.
  • Finetooner wrote on Dec 24, 2008 at 8:39 AM
    Hi DeafMom: I also commented on the Kay Jewelry ad here: http://www.disaboom.com/Blogs/finetooner/archive/2008/11/27/another-quot-atta-boy-quot.aspx I've been a life-long supporter, advocate, and encourager for all people with disabilities. I simply don't care about the "who's, when's, where's, how's or why's of company advertising that targets the disabled. It has to start today....now....immediately. I never thought African-Americans would gain a share of the American dream; I never thought I'd live to see the Berlin Wall collapse; I never thought I'd see men on the moon. Every little bit helps. D**N the naysayers; full speed ahead. We need to quit whining and nit-picking. No, it is never a good time to be disabled but it is better now than it was and going to improve incrementally because of these little TV ads. I just bought a grand worth of TV and home theater equipment from Best Buy because I have noticed a remarkable improvement in the way they do business with consumers and their community involvement. Go to Kay Jewelers and buy something and tell these corporations why you are. They need to know that their ads featuring disabilities are significant not only to the community but their bottom line.
  • TallJim wrote on Dec 24, 2008 at 11:56 AM
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    I just read your post about my post and I think that the point I was making is a bit lost in the idea that I mentioning a person with a disability. I shop at Best Buy too, bought my HD TV there too, and I do hope you enjoy the new home theater system when it gets installed. The Kay Jewelers ad I rather enjoyed, it actually involved the person with a disability and was a very inclusive commercial. Tom Steinert-Threlkeld has his own seperate opinion on that and I find several differences in his stance versus mine. I am only talking about the Best Buy commercial. I spend a lot of time working in television and with advertising and found the "installation technician" storytelling method to be my real gripe with the way the commercial was made. Let's not forget that it is a commercial, they are trying to sell stuff. We just happen to view the motives of the commercial differently. You see it as a reaching out to people with disabilities, and I can see that you take that point of view and have no fault with the mention of someone with a disability. However, I am not a person as trusting in the motives of advertising. As I said in my post, the fact THEY were telling me about going out of THEIR way seemed a little self aggrandizing. This isn't a word of mouth story you hear from a friend or coworker. This is a commercial, produced by an ad company, paid for by Best Buy, air time paid for with a script written, and an actor cast. I applaud them for helping a customer who needed extra assistance. But I know how TV works and I am deeply suspect of the truth and accuracy of the commercial. I am not calling for them to take down the ad, or think that they should ignore people with disabilities. I am just one guy who is writing a personal blog and am not looking to start some sort of fight or societal debate. But the commercial just sat wrong with me. If it didn't sit wrong with you then that is fine. This world would be very boring if everyone had the same opinion. I do take some exception to the idea that I "put them to the whipping post". I merely mentioned that I was suspect of the way they attempted to sell their goods.
  • wazabiker wrote on Dec 24, 2008 at 12:20 PM
    As a PWD consumer I see the need for more advertising to feature PWDs, not as an after thought, but as real bonified consumers pitching a product. Usually we are relegated to the background in visual advertising. Is that because we aren't members of the "beautiful people" population?
  • Karen Putz / DeafMom wrote on Dec 27, 2008 at 9:16 PM
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    TallJim, Thanks for stopping by and explaining more. Sure, I understand that companies create ads to sell products, but sincere or not, I applaud Best Buy for showing that they're willing to go the extra mile for their customers with disabilities. The commercial obviously worked, as they've now gained me as a customer as a result.
  • Don Dickensheet wrote on Dec 31, 2008 at 3:28 PM
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    Who really cares most people should be grateful that most do not suffer from disabilities? Whatever happend to majority rules? I get so tired of this PC junk whats next a PCN? The Physically Challenged Network? If it was the opposite and only a few in the country were without problems Im sure there would be a clamor perhaps you could enlist Oprah and Dr. Phil to fund research for a braille TV? And I used to date a deaf girl who loved to dance as she could "FEEL" the beat, she was very good at it, I think in thid day and age most business's comply with ADA standards the community where I live is way behind but I dont make an issue about it as I can still function, in fact using the stairs instead of the ramp strengthens me in my situation, people often ask why I dont use the ramp? The answer to me is simple If I had gotten used to it I would still be in a wheelchair?
  • Don Dickensheet wrote on Dec 31, 2008 at 3:28 PM
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    Who really cares most people should be grateful that most do not suffer from disabilities? Whatever happend to majority rules? I get so tired of this PC junk whats next a PCN? The Physically Challenged Network? If it was the opposite and only a few in the country were without problems Im sure there would be a clamor perhaps you could enlist Oprah and Dr. Phil to fund research for a braille TV? And I used to date a deaf girl who loved to dance as she could "FEEL" the beat, she was very good at it, I think in thid day and age most business's comply with ADA standards the community where I live is way behind but I dont make an issue about it as I can still function, in fact using the stairs instead of the ramp strengthens me in my situation, people often ask why I dont use the ramp? The answer to me is simple If I had gotten used to it I would still be in a wheelchair?
  • PastorRichardArmstrong wrote on Jan 1, 2009 at 1:00 PM
    Thanks for the information it just let you how people with disabilitys are looked on as 2nd class people