This was a project aiming to get people comfortable talking about about mental health. Aimed at young audience of 11 - 18 year olds, I worked with four other creatives on two creative solutions to tackle this stigma.
INSIGHT
We discovered that one reason young people don't have conversations about each other's mental health because it is difficult to empathise with something that you can't see.
Our aim with the two ideas below is that we wanted to add visibility and normality to mental health for young people by encouraging them to recognise that their mental state is just as important as their physical state.
CHARGE UP
#ChargeUp makes mental health explicitly visible by linking people's mental state with a battery charge percentage. This is to emphasise that everyone has mental health, it's just that everyone experiences peaks and dips in their mental health.
EXECUTIONS
VISUAL AD
The visual ad consisted of people around the world doing normal things, but their ‘battery charge’ is on show above their heads (like the green diamond in Sims). We will then display how easy it is to ‘charge someone up’ with actions such as a smile, asking how they are, offering help.
I created style frames to give an idea of what this ad would potentially look like:
This will be used as an advertisement on youtube and shared on social media as market research showed that the targeted age group do not watch television. Also putting an ad on television is also very expensive and unnecessary.
SOCIAL MEDIA GIFS
The ‘shareable’ content will be gifs with the question ‘What Percentage Are You On?’ that people can share on Whatsapp, Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook to give the campaign wider reach and encourage conversation starts. Asking ‘What Percentage Are You On?’ seems less daunting to a young person than asking ‘How Are You?’
PUBLIC TRANSPORT POSTERS
If the campaign had a high budget posters on public transport would also be a viable option, in order to spread the campaign nationwide and increase awareness of the issue of mental health beyond the target market.
CREP CHECK
A "Crep Check" is something that comes instinctively to young people, they are able to recognise and act when something is off about their friend based on the condition of their trainers. This is often humorous and light hearted. We are conveying the message that the same recognition and action should be applied to their friend’s mental health. They should be able to detect when something is off about their friend and address it in the way they know how.
EXECUTIONS
VISUAL AD
The concept for the visual ad for this campaign consisted of black British talent, e.g. Mandem on the Wall, Michael Dappah, Roll - Safe, MotheComedian, Chicken Connoisseur, Nadia Rose and Lady Leshurr. Recognisable faces to young people that authentically demonstrate the crep check concept. They will show banterous everyday friendships, with the crep check opening the conversation to actually checking in on their friend. This will model to them tangible ways/words to use to start this conversation with their friend, making it less daunting.
This ad will be inspired by the style of the variety shown in the Nike ‘Nothing Beats a Londoner’ ad. This is based on the insight that young people struggle to talk about mental health because they don’t have the right language to do it. We are showing them that there is no such thing as the ‘right’ language, that they are already equipped with the language and approach to recognise and act when something is off even if they don’t know exactly what it is.
Have a look at the storyboard below to give an idea of what a scene in this advertisement could potentially play out:
Storyboard directed by Mercy Phillips.
SCHOOL WORKSHOPS
A trainer customisation workshop will be introduced in inner city schools and colleges. The session will take place in small groups and will encourage young people to express their feelings via their trainer designs. This workshop will be designed in collaboration with a specialist in education and communication tools.
The trainers will be designed on iPads to increase engagement with pupils. Will also be given goodie bags in order to help the pupils continue checking up on their friends and being aware that mental health is just as important as their physical appearance.
2 students will then be selected (based on design and/or session contribution) to attend an exclusive workshop that will be co-hosted by local influencers/celebrities that have experienced mental health issues in the past and are willing to open up about their past. Parts of this event/conversation will be recorded and posted on social media (#CrepCheckwithStormzy (or participating artist/influencer) and #FreshCrepFreshMind).
CREDITS #TEAMTITANS
This project was completed with the following people:
• Joanne Oguntimehin (Copywriter)
• Jimi Ogun (Creative)
• Thiara Macalinao (Content Creator)
• Mercy Phillips (Director/Copywriter)
Companies
Wieden+Kennedy
- Advertising
