Access Israel and Leo Burnett Replace Signs With Pictures Of Real Disabled People

On the “International Day of Persons with Disabilities” on 3rd December, Access Israel -a non-profit organisation whose main mission is to promote accessibility and inclusion to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and the elderly- launched a campaign to put the spotlight on the issue of drivers who illegally park in spots reserved for the disabled.

Developed by Leo Burnett Israel, the campaign aims to ‘put a face on people with disabilities’ via an idea where icons on thousands of disabled parking signs throughout the country are replaced with pictures of real disabled people. The creative team photographed a total of 52 people including well-known disabled Knesset Members and Paralympic Medallists and uploaded their stories onto a dedicated website where people could read more about them and how they came to be disabled.

The project was launched via a teaser campaign a few days prior to its launch on International Day of Persons with Disabilities. In places where the creative team ran test trials, the vey action of replacing the signs with people’s faces sparked interest and debate. Hidden cameras will be set up to capture the number of interactions hourly – the results will leave many speechless. 

In Israel, there are more than 180,000 disabled people. According to figures from the Israeli police, more than 20,000 fines related to illegal parking in spots designated for the disabled are handed out every year. These numbers are also increasing year on year, proving that this is a growing problem.