According to the World Health Organization, more than 450 million people–including 6.7 million Canadians–are struggling with mental illness, making it the leading cause of disability worldwide. More than half of Canadians will have dealt with some form of mental illness by the age of 40, and more than 11 people per day—totaling more than 4,000 people per year–lose their life to suicide.
To help address the issue, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Canada has launched a fundraising campaign to support hospital-based mental health research, starting with a new advertising platform: “No one left behind.”
The campaign–which is running in Ontario–was developed in partnership with Toronto agency Camp Jefferson, yielding this powerful :60 directed by Brent Foster of production company Scouts Honour. In the “No One Left Behind” spot, people come together to form a kind of lighthouse, ultimately shining a beacon to raise awareness of mental illness and the need to address it meaningfully.
Funds raised will go in part toward building the new CAMH Research & Discovery Centre, a state-of-the-art facility that will lead to ground-breaking research to get people the solutions they need.
“We believe now is the time to go further than ever to support those facing mental illness,” said Sarah Chamberlin, CAMH Foundation’s CMO and VP of community giving and engagement. “Our work over the past 25 years has helped to bust stigma, raise awareness and spark conversations about mental health. Now it’s time to go further.”
“We wanted this campaign to call out to those who share the same ambition and attitude of the very people who are fighting daily to uncover new cures for those living with, and affected by, mental illness,” said Camp Jefferson ECD Julie Nikolic. “We feel this embodies CAMH’s unbreakable spirit against the seemingly insurmountable odds they face. It lets people who may be suffering or who have loved ones who are going through difficult times know that CAMH will keep going the distance for them.”
CreditsClient The Centre for Addiction and Mental health (CAMH) Agency Camp Jefferson, Toronto Julie Nikolic, SVP, director of creative; Ian Barr, SVP, head of strategy; Mike Blackmore, Chris Obergfell, creative directors; Aaron Niven, Dave Fontaine, associate creative directors; Brenda Surminski, executive producer; Leah Renihan, design director; Ian Flynn, Anna Lew, production designers; Tori Wiley, copywriter; Arghavan Salehinia, art director. Magic Circle Workshop Betsy Tran, sr. production manager; Shireen Kok, sr. studio lead; Hailey Williams, sr. retoucher; Graham Stewart, studio coordinator. Production Company Scouts Honour Brent Foster, director; Rita Popielak, Simon Dragland, exec producers; Jeremiah Lapointe, producer. Editorial Outsider Editorial Michael Barker, editor; Kristina Anzlinger, producer. VFX The Vanity Sean Cochrane, VFX artist; Stephanie Pennington, exec producer. Postproduction Alter Ego Wade Odlum, sr. colorist. Audio OSO Audio Harry Knazan, audio creative director; Jane Heath, producer. Photography Fuze Jeff Carlson, stills photographer; Nicole Gomez, exec producer. Media Agency Jungle Media
NHS England, M&C Saatchi UK, Director Tom Tagholm Team On PSA Highlighting The Overlooked Signs Of A Stroke
National Health Service (NHS) England has unveiled a multichannel campaign, “Act FAST,” to raise awareness of the individual signs of a stroke and get people to call 999 as soon as they suspect they may be experiencing any one symptom. The push, which is part of the ongoing “Help Us, Help You” campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi UK.
The campaign depicts everyday situations where everything might seem relatively normal, but where there’s the sign of someone experiencing a stroke.
A key component of the campaign is this :30--directed by Tom Tagholm of Various Films--which sets up the idea that initially, a stroke might not seem like much, highlighting key symptoms: from struggling to use a paint roller, to not being able to smile when watching TV, to slurring your speech when reading a story to your grandchild. The PSA emphasizes that time is critical, ending with the line: “Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999.”
Jo Bacon, Group CEO, M&C Saatchi UK, said, “We want to ensure people take action on the first symptom, rather than waiting for more conclusive signs. To help them understand that even when everything seems normal, something serious might be happening.”
Matt Lee, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi UK, commented: “This is important work. We wanted to explore that precise moment when your world shifts, quietly yet powerfully, off its axis during a stroke. We highlight how a tiny external moment can actually be seismic—an extraordinary gear change, framed in a really ordinary way.”
Director Tagholm shared, “My Dad suffered a stroke a few years ago and was saved from the worst by acting quickly, and by the work of the NHS. So there’s... Read More