Some of you may know that we work alongside the remarkable people at the Campaign Against Living Miserably – or CALM as we know them. They run an annual campaign around World Suicide Prevention Day to raise awareness of the issues around suicide but, most of all, to try to stop it from happening.
It feels like a long time ago now that we worked with CALM on The Last Photo – one of the most impactful and important pieces of work we’ve ever done.
This year we – an agency team including Adam&Eve/DDB, the7Stars, Creative Giants, ITV and the team at Hope&Glory – alighted on the statistic that suicide is now the leading cause of death for people under 34 in the UK, with women under the age of 24 forming the fastest-growing group in history at risk of taking their own lives.
“Missed birthdays” highlights how 6,929 young people have died by suicide in the past decade with an installation at Westfield London featuring the same number of balloons illustrating the birthdays young people didn’t get to celebrate.
Visitors can walk through the installation and hear intimate voice notes from loved ones who have lost a young person to suicide, describing what they were like and what they hope to achieve in being part of the “Missed Birthdays” campaign.
Alongside the campaign and installation, we launched the “CALM C.A.R.E. kit”, standing for “Check in”, “Ask if they’re feeling suicidal”, “Remain close” and “Expert help”. It’s a suite of practical tools and resources designed to equip trusted adults with everything needed to be there for a young person, from introducing the topic to keeping them safe in crisis.
The campaign has had a huge impact on the media, with ITV’s This Morning moving its sofa to the middle of the installation for the day and broadcasting live surrounded by the balloons—reaching millions through live TV and millions more as online titles picked up the story.
There have been pieces across titles including the Daily Express (both online and in print), Daily Mirror, Evening Standard, iPaper, METRO, The Times and more across the Daily Express. Alongside heading on for 100 pieces of editorial across lifestyle, broadcast, regional and trade titles, it’s been a great start to the campaign.
