We're the Superhumans

We're the Superhumans is a television advert which was produced by Channel 4 to promote its broadcast of the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Serving as a follow-up to Meet the Superhumans (which was used to promote the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London), the advert featured people of various backgrounds and disabilities (including several British Paralympic athletes) performing different activities and physical feats.^[1] It was set to a performance of the Sammy Davis Jr. song "Yes I Can" by a band composed of musicians with disabilities.^[2]

We're the Superhumans received wide acclaim, and won the overall award in film at the 2017 Cannes Lions Festival. The advert faced criticism for allegedly conveying unrealistic expectations of people with disabilities, stemming from Channel 4's marketing campaigns for the Paralympics having promoted the athletes as having "superhuman" traits. Channel 4 stated that it worked with disability organizations to ensure its portrayals were accurate, while participant Alvin Law argued that the broadcaster was merely intending to promote Paralympic athletes as having the same athletic qualities as Olympic athletes.