Continuing their partnership to combat the mental health crisis among America’s youth, the Ad Council and McCann New York have released the latest installment of the “Sound It Out” campaign which focuses on helping parents and caregivers have meaningful conversations with their kids about emotional wellbeing.
The new work, “Listening is a Form of Love,” focuses on the important role parents and caregivers play in supporting young people’s emotional wellbeing and is supported by new data from Surgo Health’s Youth Mental Health Tracker. The survey highlights that: 55% of youth (ages 10-24) report mental health struggles; and one in five youth report symptoms of depression, and one in four report symptoms of anxiety.
The film includes an interactive digital experience that invites parents to practice “holding space” by pressing the space bar to listen to kids sharing what they wish their parents could hear, in their own words. Along with this literal interpretation of the active listening the campaign encourages, the website also gives valuable tools to help parents and caregivers be better listeners, and in turn, better support their kids.
There is also this 60-second PSA–directed by Alex Fischman Cardenas via Greenpoint Pictures–which underscores the power and importance of listening to your loved ones.
Credits
Client Ad Council Anna Rodriguez, VP, campaign director; Deborah Leiter, SVP, group campaign director; Meghan Moloney, London Boyd, campaign managers. Agency McCann Shayne Millington, chief creative officer; Brian Steele, Daniel Prado, SVPs, group creative directors; Sam Altman, sr. copywriter; Lyns Descardes, sr. art director. Lucien Etori, chief strategy officer, McCann NY; Joe Calabrese, chief production o fficer, McCann NY; Tyler Neely, Olivia Whyte, sr. producers; Colleen Dahlstrom, sr. music producer. Production & Postproduction Greenpoint Pictures Alex Fischman Cardenas, director; Amalia Bradstreet, line producer; Mike Broome, DP; Ben Schwaeber, editor; Lexy Leeds, sr. post producer; Mikey Rossiter, colorist. Digital Production Viget Nathan Schmidt, Nathan Long, sr. UI developers; Owen Shifflett, art director; Carolyn Hack, platform developer; Nevin Morgan, sr. dev ops engineer. Music Racket Club Nick Crane, creative director/composer; Adrian Womack, sr. creative producer. Spanish Translation Casanova Julia Hernandez, management supervisor; Cesar Davila-Irizarry, copywriter; Elias Weinstock, VP executive creative director.
Stain remover Vanish presents this emotional short film--created by BETC Havas, Sao Paulo, and produced by LOBO--that explores the profound consequences of bullying and highlights the importance of open conversations between parents and children. Titled The Bully Monster, the animated film premiered at the Maquinaria Festival in Rio de Janeiro on February 15 in a special edition featuring family-focused programming.
The film’s protagonist is a boy who experiences bullying at school but keeps silent about his suffering. Isolation turns sadness into insecurity, creating invisible emotional scars that only grow in the absence of dialogue. When his mother notices stains on his uniform, these marks become the starting point for a revealing conversation. As words find space to make themselves heard, the stains begin to fade.
This initiative aligns with the Vanish Saves Your Uniform campaign, which, for the past three years during the back-to-school season, has engaged with parents by positioning the brand as a trusted partner in preserving school uniforms. This year, Vanish decided to broaden the conversation, bringing bullying into the debate as the real stain that can impact a child’s life.
The Bully Monster is being screened as preshow material in movie theaters starting February 20 and will also be available on streaming platforms and digital channels. In addition to the film, the campaign will include out-of-home activations and school initiatives through a partnership with Abrace – Preventive Programs, the founding organization of the “Bullying-Free Schools” program, which has been equipping institutions with resources to combat school violence for 12 years.
“Research indicates that stains on a uniform can... Read More
