Kmart’s Easter catalogue has got us cheering!

FINALLY a major retailer has responded to what we’ve all been asking for: Diversity in advertising.

Kmart Australia has raised the bar for retail giants across Australia, using its Easter catalogue to promote a beautiful message of inclusion to its customers. It’s a groundbreaker that has our entire office jumping for joy (and keen to get our hands on a few choccy eggs).

Being released at one of the busiest times of the year for the retail giant, Kmart worked with not-for-profit Starting With Julius to include children with various disabilities throughout the catalogue.

“Advertising should be bold and reflect the world in which we live,” says Starting With Julius founder Catia Malaquias.

“With one in five of us living with disability, having a disability is a natural part of the human experience and, like other forms of diversity, it should be represented, not excluded,” she continued.

The 40-page catalogue features a number of children living with disabilities, as well as children of different ages, body shapes and ethnicities.

“Inclusion is important to us at Kmart no matter a person’s race, gender, ethnicity, age, ability, appearance or attitude and we are focused on continuing to improve on this commitment,” Kmart told Mamamia.

It seems many others share our excitement, too.

Malaquias, whose son Julius has Down syndrome, told Mamamia that the shoot came about following a meeting with Kmart CEO Guy Russo, late last year.

When discussing the importance of creating greater visibility around disability, Malaquias says it’s about creating a more realistic representation of the environment we live in, and ensuring that all minorities within the community are valued. And when it comes to getting the message out there, there’s no medium more powerful than advertising because of its presence and reach.

“Inclusion in advertising is important because it helps to validate and normalise the participation of people with disability in the community, both as consumers and more generally, and to challenge the stigma, stereotypes and misconceptions that remain significant barriers to the enjoyment of rights.”

Taking to Facebook, Kmart Australia team wrote to one customer that the catalogue “is an extension of our broader and very important focus on diversity and truly a representation of our team, customers and communities that we operate in and are part of.”

Here’s to many more diverse advertisements in the future.