Shift 20 launches $10m incentive for inclusive casting

The Shift 20 Initiative has launched a national push to accelerate disability representation in advertising, bringing together Australia’s largest media owners to unlock more than $10 million in added-value media for brands that cast talent inclusive of disability.

The program, called 80 for 20, launches today and gives any advertiser in Australia access to up to 20% bonus media inventory when their campaigns feature people with disability. The offer applies across outdoor, radio, social, television, cinema, print and digital, regardless of agency.

Eighteen media owners have signed on, including Amazon, ARN, Foxtel, JCDecaux, News Corp, Nova, oOh!, Paramount, QMS, SBS, Seven, TikTok, Val Morgan and VMO. Managed by PHD, the added-value inventory forms a pooled fund brands can draw from when they meet the casting criteria.

The initiative builds on Shift 20’s open-source TikTok casting platform, Shift 20 Casting Call, and aims to move inclusive representation from a single-day awareness effort to a year-round standard. Brands using the platform today include Uber, THE ICONIC and Anytime Fitness.

Research cited in the launch shows ads featuring talent with disability deliver 18% higher engagement and a 65% higher return on investment, with strong consideration lifting 33% when disability is represented.

PHD Australia managing director Simon Lawson said the scale of the partnership shows what can be achieved when the sector acts collectively.

“This partnership proves what’s possible when the industry comes together to support genuine, positive change,” he said. “Inclusive ads don’t just feel better - they perform better.”

Shift 20 founder Dylan Alcott said the program responds to clear consumer demand.

“Two-thirds of Australians feel more positively about brands that include people with disability,” he said. “This is bigger than one campaign or one brand. It’s about closing the gap between what we see on screen and everyday Australians.”

Special’s creative directors Peter Cvetkovski and Adam Ferrie said 80 for 20 will amplify the campaigns already proving audiences respond to inclusive casting.

“80 for 20 isn’t just about offering free media; it’s about amplifying creativity that genuinely cuts through,” they said.

The launch marks the latest expansion of the Shift 20 Initiative, which began in 2023 and has since partnered with major brands on the Unignorable Ad Break and rolled out its national casting platform. The 80 for 20 program will run for 12 months, with Shift 20 and PHD inviting additional media partners to join.