Sunday, October 31, 2010

One of the Coolest Commercials EVER!

Checkout this YouTube clip for ThinkBeyondTheLabel.com:



Why is that so cool?  If you didn't notice, it shows a high-level quadriplegic typing with a mouthstick, and later driving his chair via sip-and-puff (the same method I use). I've seen it air on ESPN (i.e. mainstream TV) multiple times in the last month.

Here's part of the "About Us" description on their website:

"Think Beyond the Label is committed to making the business case for employing people with disabilities. We are a partnership of health and human service and employment agencies with federal grants, coming together to build a uniform national infrastructure and approach that connects businesses to qualified candidates with disabilities. Our goal is simple: to raise awareness that hiring people with disabilities makes good business sense. Employees with disabilities have unique, competitively relevant knowledge and perspectives about work processes, bringing different perspectives to meeting work requirements and goals successfully. Hiring someone who 'thinks outside the box' might be thinking too small when there’s an opportunity to hire someone who lives outside the box."


I think it's fantastic that such a resource exists to help both people with disABILITIES and companies benefit from working together.

Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 221 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com

2 comments:

Matthew Smith said...

I wonder if they hired a real quad to play that role.

Bill Miller said...

I would think the guy is a real quad. It would be difficult to rent a sip-and-puff controlled wheelchair and an able-bodied actor might have difficulty typing with a mouthstick also. Besides that, the non-profit organization's goal is to help people with disABILITIES get jobs, so it wouldn't make sense to use an able-bodied actor for the commercial, instead of a real quad.