British Heart Foundation - "Boy"

Integrated creative agency MullenLowe today launches a new campaign – Alt Alts – in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), the leading sight loss charity in the UK.

Alternative Text (Alt Text) is a written description of an image, picture or photograph. It’s super important as it is read aloud by screen readers, to help people with sight loss understand the content of that image.

Alt Text is relied on by the two million people in the UK with sight loss. But Alt Text descriptions are often either really poor quality – or non-existent.

The campaign is designed to raise awareness amongst sighted people about the importance of writing Alt Text to any images they post.

Beautifully written descriptions of some of the most iconic images in the world tease the reader to guess the image. Images that have changes moods, minds, lives - history. Images that sighted people may have taken for granted, but will never be seen by some.

The power of the copy lands the fact that blind and partially sighted people are missing out on how that image feels if the Alt Text is missing or badly written. Which is heart-breaking and wrong.

Readers are encouraged to scan a QR code to reveal the image, but the image isn’t there. Instead, a message reads, ‘If you guessed the image, lucky you. For the 2.2 billion people in the world with sight loss it’s not that easy. Writing a description to every image you post gives people with sight loss access to the whole picture.’

The campaign launches with a 96 sheet supersite at Old Street, metres away from Moorfields Eye Hospital, as well as OOH sites across London. It is also supported by social media activity.

Martin Wingfield, RNIB’s Director of Brand, says: “Alt Text is a hugely important accessibility tool designed to help people navigate the internet more easily. Our Alt Alts campaign highlights how inclusive content is just good content and ensures you aren’t exclusion anyone. Our motto is always to think of accessibility as a love note – it tells people we want you here as well.”

Nicky Bullard, Group Chief Creative Officer at MullenLowe, adds: “When I think about the impact certain images have had on me in my life, the thought that we are excluding blind and partially sighted people from feeling the impact of those images, makes me very, very sad. This campaign is the start of a massive conversation that must continue.”