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Alt text campaign

A digital billboard in between two glass skyscrapers in London. Black text on a white background on the billboard reads 'August 8th, 1969. A group of four men walk across a zebra crossing in North London. From right to left, white suit, black suit, bare-footed and denim-clad. Priest, undertaker, body and grave differ? Or just four lads from Liverpool who were once bigger than Jesus?'
A digital billboard in between two glass skyscrapers in London. Black text on a white background on the billboard reads 'August 8th, 1969. A group of four men walk across a zebra crossing in North London. From right to left, white suit, black suit, bare-footed and denim-clad. Priest, undertaker, body and grave differ? Or just four lads from Liverpool who were once bigger than Jesus?'

Every year, the global advertising industry puts millions of images into the world. Images that over 2.2 billion people with sight loss might never see. Instead, many blind and partially sighted people rely on a text alternative or ‘alt text’ – a written descriptions of an image.”

For Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2024, we launched our Alt Alt campaign to shine a light on just how much of a difference good alt text makes for blind and partially sighted people. Because when image descriptions are missing or poorly written, it doesn’t just make content less accessible – it shuts people out.

That’s what we set out to change.

Last year, we were proud to work with partners and colleagues within the communications industry at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2024 to take that message even further. Together, we kicked off a long-term effort to raise industry standards by launching new award categories in Digital Craft and Industry Craft, designed to celebrate and reward thoughtful, high-quality image descriptions – the kind everyone deserves.

But the work doesn’t stop there.

We’re continuing to push for better awareness, better practices, and better inclusion across the board. And in June 2025, the very first winners of these new Cannes Lions categories will be announced - recognising the people and projects setting a new benchmark for accessibility in creativity.

Because everyone deserves to see the whole picture.

Find out how to make your social media accessible

Download Download our accessible social media checklist (PDF)

Document type: pdf Document size: 96.2 KB

In this campaign

Our alt text campaign

Our campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of alt text - written descriptions of images that screen-readers read aloud for people with sight loss

Why is alt text important?

Alt text is a short term for alternative text, put simply, its a written description of an image. It's a textual alternative to images for blind and partially sighted people.”

How can I write alt text?

Learn how easy it is to add alt text to the images you post.

Inclusive Communications Masterclass

RNIB’s new Inclusive Communications Masterclass brings a unique awareness of sight loss, helping you to understand the challenges blind or partially sighted people face every day due to the lack of accessible communication