A local schoolboy has become one of the faces of an inclusive school uniform marketing campaign by a leading supermarket chain.
George Tappenden from Tunbridge Wells, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2, adds a twist to ‘back to school’ in Asda’s ‘Uniform for the People’ adverts, spinning joyfully in his powerchair along with his ‘schoolmates’.
The campaign can be seen in stores and television ads across the country, as the 11-year-old Bishops Down schoolboy and other children celebrate the return to school while wearing school uniform from the supermarket’s ‘George’ brand.
This is not the schoolboy’s first time in the public eye, having previously campaigned for the drug Risdiplam to be available on the NHS to treat Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
‘All children going back to school should be represented by marketing campaigns’
George said: “All children going back to school should be represented in marketing campaigns. It is so important that children can relate and see themselves in books, on TV and in stores.
“Positive body image and media representation for disabled communities is not just important for those with disabilities but also for those without.
“Making it the norm for those children without disabilities will create a fair and inclusive society as adults in the future. It starts with the children.”
