Never let it be said that here at the Decision Marketing Nerve Centre we don’t give agencies and their clients a second, third, fourth or even fifth chance. After all, we all know even the most meticulously crafted ads can bomb.
And so this week we return to ITV’s landmark mental wellness campaign, Britain Get Talking, which is designed to tackle one of the many heinous health issues triggered by Covid-19. Back in May, the initiative tapped into Mental Health Awareness Week by “Zooming” a gaggle of celebs. To be fair, while well intentioned, in our humble opinion at least, the activity came across as just too smug.
Still, with the campaign moving into the fundraising phase, this week saw the launch of a new appeal “Help Our Helplines”, once again created by Uncommon Creative Studio.
With Covid triggering a huge rise in anxiety, and rates of depression almost doubling during lockdown, calls to mental health helplines have sharply increased; charities are taking more calls, and the calls are lasting longer.
So, thankfully, gone are the annoying celebs, pretending to struggle in their luxury pads, replaced by honest, personal stories of mental health and the life changing beneficial actions of reaching out to someone for help.
In support of leading mental health charities Mind, YoungMinds and CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), and the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) — individuals pay tribute to the guidance received from calling a helpline and the support they can provide to anyone who needs assistance for their mental health.
The campaign also included the ring of an unanswered call that interrupted some of ITV’s most popular shows, including Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women, encouraging viewers to think about the life-changing impact a single call could potentially have.
The Britain’s Got Talent final also dedicated airtime on Saturday night to World Mental Health Day, and even the Government has pledged to donate an additional £1m to support mental health charity helplines.
Uncommon co-founder Nils Leonard said: “Britain Get Talking was an idea created to make a difference. Now, one year on, the most recognised mental health campaign in the UK is raising the funds the nation needs.”
ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall added: “The number of people looking for help has risen significantly as it continues to be a challenging time for many. We are grateful to the Government for recognising our campaign with this generous pledge. It will help mental health charity helplines continue to offer their support to everyone who needs their help. ”
Over the next month, ITV will also run a suite of ads across the channel, based from these testimonials, to continue to encourage viewers to think about the life-changing impact a single call could have.
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, it could be easy to dismiss the rise in mental health issues as somebody else’s problem but this is a crisis like no other and can potentially hit even the most Panglossian among us. So dig deep, you never know, next time it could be you and yours who need support.
Decision Marketing Adometer: A “what are you waiting for” 10 out of 10
