Overview

• Agency Tapestry’s sixth-year review found more than half of top commercials featured Black people, with South Asians in 17% and East Asians in 11% of ads, exceeding their population shares.
• Disabled people appeared in 4% of ads despite accounting for nearly 18% of the population, with over‑70s in 2% and pregnant women in just 0.1%.
• The study analysed the top 500 TV adverts across all broadcasters during two separate four‑week periods to track trends since 2020.
• Playwright Jack Thorne urged industry leaders to undertake “self‑examination” as advocates pressed for more authentic portrayals and wider access to casting.
• The Advertising Standards Authority recently banned a Sanex shower‑gel ad for an offensive racial stereotype, and Currys’ RNIB‑partnered ‘sigh of relief’ spot was praised as a more inclusive example.