Mars candy's latest ad campaign brings a refreshing take on life with disabilities

Sometimes risqué, sometimes awkward, but never condescending or sappy, a new set of Mars candy commercials are winning plaudits -- and profits -- for their realistic portrayal of people living with disabilities.

The short slice-of-life vignettes feature four actresses with various physical disabilities joking with friends about the trivial embarrassments, frustrations and triumphs of everyday social interactions -- wedding mishaps, late-night hook-ups, mischievous pets -- each based on a real-life story.

No inspiration porn, no oversimplified characters -- instead, viewers are treated to refreshingly candid portraits of life from people with disabilities.

The campaign is earning more than just acclaim; Channel 4, the British broadcaster of the Paralympic games, also awarded the candy giant $1.3 million in free advertising after selecting the videos from a pool of 90 entries for its "Superhumans Wanted" contest.

The ads are well-plotted, and the product placement is clever, but the stories really only stand out because of the stark underrepresentation of scenes like these in modern-day advertising -- even as the industry tries to branch out with voices that have been historically sidelined in the media.

Advertising trade site Little Black Book alluded to this shortage in an editorial published this week about the new campaign.

"Despite the industry's constant handwringing about diversity, disability is weirdly absent from panels, op-eds and campaign groups," the website opined.

The ads also seem to be resonating with many on social media, including members of the disability community. The usual vitriol is thankfully absent from the comment section below the YouTube videos, and a widely-shared Reddit thread is bursting with good will.

A Redditor named EmilyEverAfter wrote a particularly eloquent account of how one of the ads helps to advance notions of sexuality and disability that she has struggled with for much of her life.

"Oh my God, I'm crying," she wrote. "I have been waiting my entire life for something that says, 'It's okay to laugh at yourself. It's okay to be sexual.' And Maltesers just did that in thirty seconds."

As the world's premiere sporting event for people with disabilities, the Paralympics have brought forth a rush of disability-focused advertising this month. In another notable effort, Samsung expanded its Rio Olympics campaign with a light-hearted ad featuring Paralympic swimmers Ellie Simmonds and Susie Rodgers.

The Maltesers campaign is the work of London ad agency AMVBBDO.