Channel 4 Sales today announces the five brands shortlisted to win one million pounds of commercial airtime via the Diversity in Advertising Award. This year marks the tenth year of the edition, and will focus once more on the brief, Inclusive by Design.

Building on last year’s winning advert, Sigh of Relief from Currys and AMV BBDO, Inclusive by Design, urges the industry to embed inclusive practices into creative development and remove barriers to engagement with TV advertising.

The selected brands are:

  • Morrisons, one of the UK’s largest supermarkets that originated as a market stall in Bradford. Entered by Leo UK.
  • Maltesers, one of the UK’s leading malt chocolate brands, owned by Mars. Entered by AMV BBDO.
  • The Open University: “Learning Without Limits” – removing barriers to education and celebrating the power of making learning open and accessible to all. The idea brings to life the limitless opportunities education can offer, no matter who you are or where you start. Entered by Havas London.
  • Tesco:  a leading multinational retailer with over 330,000 colleagues, dedicated to serving customers every day with affordable, healthy, and sustainable food. Entered with BBH and EMC.
  • Bodyform, a period care brand that acts fearlessly until all women+ can live fearless. Entered by AMV BBDO. Entered by AMV BBDO.

This brief is underpinned by research carried out by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) that showed 18 million people in the UK have different, diverse experiences of hearing loss and deafness, and the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) research shows that around 340,000 people are registered blind or partially sighted. These figures demonstrate the significant numbers not being reached by most advertising, and the need for accessible and inclusive creative solutions.

The emphasis on making advertising accessible is further reflected in Channel 4 Sales’s commitment that from Spring 2026 all adverts delivered to Channel 4 (across linear and streaming) will mandatorily require closed captions. As well as striving for all creative partnerships to have subtitles as the standard. Meanwhile all creative brand deals will adhere to a set of accessibility standards and inclusive principles including those set out by the inclusive marketing agency PurpleGoat in an upcoming digital playbook as well as Channel 4’s Disability Codes of Portrayal.

Amy Jenkins, Sales Leader at Channel 4 states, “With so many strong entries for this year’s Diversity in Advertising Award, it is inspiring to see so many companies wanting to develop work that is Inclusive by Design into the whole process. The final stage pitches are set to be a fantastic day with so much creativity, expertise and passion in the room. This year’s brief is built on the core belief that having adverts which are Inclusive by Design doesn’t just make things better for some; it enhances the experience for everyone. Accessibility is a matter of importance for Channel 4, and I can’t wait to partner with the winning brand as we work together to drive change.”

Those shortlisted will take part in final stage pitches this month, where one brand will be chosen as the winners with their campaign air on Channel 4 in 2026. In addition, the four runners-up will be offered the opportunity to secure match funding to get their entries on air.

Chaired by Channel 4’s Amy Jenkins, the judging panel for this year’s edition will be made up of industry leaders across ISBA, Thinkbox, IPA, Advertising Association, Marketing Society, Creativebrief, Paralympics GB, RNID, RNIB, Currys and Channel 4.