“Mental health” has become something of a buzzword in recent years and I honestly have conflicted feelings about it. I’ve struggled with my on mental health throughout my adult life and I know for a fact that most of my friends and acquaintances within the creative sectors would comfortably claim likewise. Struggling to cope is, after all, a perfectly natural reaction to the world in which we now find ourselves; a world we were not built to understand or function properly within.
In the wake of the pandemic things have only gotten worse and with the threat of nuclear war now hanging over our heads and the economy in tatters, it’s probably not going to get an easier any time soon. Thankfully, however, people (and even the companies that employ them) have started to realise that taking care of themselves should be a priority.
This has been reflected in a spate of campaigns designed to address mental health awareness but so many of these campaigns have felt like little more than lip service or, even worse, jumping on the mental health bandwagon. Others, however, stand out as campaigns not designed to win business but minds. These are the campaigns that speak from the heart and connect authentically with consumers and I’ll be focusing on the five that have really stood out to me in recent years below.
TheLADBible – UOKM8
Toxic masculinity is real. I’ve experienced it myself and it remains perhaps the greatest barrier between young men and accepting they don’t always have to be strong and silent. That’s why it struck such a cord when a definitively “blokeish” outlet made an effort to tell its audience that reaching out to your mates is not a sign of weakness. Inspired by the fact that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45, it was a simple but powerful message.
Ian Moore, from TheLADbible Group said: “Around half of all British men between 18-24 follow TheLADbible and I believe that by opening up our platform so our audience can talk about these issues, we can persuade young men to give themselves permission to talk about the feelings of isolation, anxiety and depression that they currently keep secret.”
TBWA – Sound the Excuse
TBWALondon found that, throughout the pandemic, 80% of Brits said working from home had a negative effect on their mental wellbeing. To combat this, they chose to strike with humour by partnering with the award-winning men’s media platform, The Book of Man. The creative, which was launched on World Mental Health Day, sought to underline the fact that nobody should have to make excuses to look after their mental health.
It did this by posting a series of ridiculous examples of reasons people could bail on a stressful video call. Vomiting cats, pigeon’s flying in through the window, a flatmate stuck in the toilet… it was all very silly but sometimes, laughter is the best way to cope.
JanSport – Lighten the Load
JanSport, the American brand of backpacks, decided to do their own research to see how their Gen Z target audience was fairing during the pandemic and how they might be able to help in some small way. They found that 7 out of 10 young people said mental health was weighing them down and that 3 out of 10 members of the Gen Z population felt anxious almost every day. Lighten the Load was created to drive open conversations among their target group around mental health and connect people with “real tools” to “unpack” the mental health crisis.
The films worked to normalize conversations around mental health with stories told by real people tackling topics like depression and anxiety, family conflict and coming to terms with identity. Yes, the overall idea was to drive engagement with the brand, but it also went some way towards normalising conversations that all teenagers suffering with negative thoughts should be having with each other. And that’s no small feat.
CALM – How Are You Doing?
Dave (the TV channel) and CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) have been partners since 2018, encouraging positive conversations around mental health. For World Mental Health Day 2020, they wanted to remind people that open conversations can be had anywhere, and even the most serious things can be met with humour.
Following the success of their lockdown specials, Dave, CALM and Murdock (a London barbers whose staff are trained in mental health first aid) wanted to give people more resources and help them get through some unusual times with a touch of comedy. Once again, the power of humour can’t possibly be overstated here
Heads Together – Heads Up
In May 2019, Heads Together partnered with the FA to launch a campaign aiming to generate the biggest conversation around mental health ever seen. The campaign discussed the general stigma around mental health, as well as the lack of understanding around how to support those suffering with it. Harnessing the popularity of football to drive its message, Prince William, the main spokesperson for the campaign, announced its release at Wembley Stadium. The campaign rolled out at all tiers of the sport, from grassroots to the elite, to reach the largest number of fans possible.
Aside from national news coverage, the FA‘s global influence, and big-name sponsors like Emirates, 2019’s FA Cup Final was even renamed the Heads Up FA Cup in support of the season-long mental health campaign. By choosing such a typically “strong and silent” sector as football to make their message, Heads Together really made an impact, one that continues to resonate today.
Richard October 7th, 2022, in the afternoon
Neat round up and some really nice examples of help that are new to me