Channel 4: Paris 2024 Paralympics ‘Considering What?’

“How do we use the iconic C4 Paralympic ad to create genuine societal change”

Overview:

Since 2022, Purple Goat has been working closely with Channel 4 to ensure that the iconic Paralympics advertising campaign we see every four years creates genuine societal change – progressing the conversation beyond superhumans, challenging people’s perceptions of disability and Paralympic sport in the process.

From macro surveys, creator panels and creative consultancy – we supported the C4 team to drive the voice of the community into the campaign, resulting in a punchy, provocative ad that creates a distinct step-change in how we view Paralympic sport and disability in society.

Insight:

Channel 4 knew that 61% of viewers watch the Paralympics to see disabled people ‘overcoming barriers’ rather than sporting action itself – so we set about collaborating to understand and redefine why people watch the Paralympics and create meaningful education and societal change in the process.

Solution:

We collaborated holistically with C4 to drive inclusivity and accessibility into all activities. We ran a selection of insights activities including macro surveys, roundtables, interviews and creator panels to gain the insights and understanding from the community around what narratives they wanted to see in C4’s Paralympic coverage, and then complimented this with PG Creative, Inclusive and accessibility Consultancy.

Outcome:

The Paralympics gave C4 its highest share of viewership in 12 years. 20 million viewers and it’s greatest proportion of Gen-Z viewership ever for a Paralympic games. The ad campaign was met with critical acclaim, with PG driving inclusivity and accessibility across social, OOH, and linear TV.

And the ad even went on to win Film Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Festival 2025: