To mark Canada’s recent Mental Health Week, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) launched a campaign, conceived by agency Zulu Alpha Kilo, to rally Canadians around its new brand platform and tagline, “Mental Health is Health.”
This TV spot is part of the campaign which highlights not only the devastating impact of mental illness, but the disparity in the way that people with mental illness are treated compared to those with a physical illness. “We must not stand silent when the human, the civil and the health care rights of people with mental illness are not recognized and respected,” said CAMH President and CEO Dr. Catherine Zahn.
Directed by Caitlin Cronenberg from Untitled Films in Toronto, the broadcast :30 titled “Oxygen” shows a woman who’s seemingly in a hospital bed speaking about her illness. Gradually, though, it’s revealed that she’s not in the hospital receiving treatment but rather at home alone dealing with her mental illness.
Credits
Client The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Agency Zulu Alpha Kilo, Toronto Zak Mroueh, chief creative officer; Catherine Allen, creative director/art director; Ryan Booth, Marcelo Mariano, Jack Curtis, designers; Manali Kulkarni, art director; Dylan Verwey, writer; Jac Benoit, Teresa Bayley, Ola Stodulska, Nadaa Baqui, producers; Tim Hopkins, Sean Bell, Heidi Philip, strategy team. Production Untitled Films, Toronto Caitlin Cronenberg, director; Lexy Kavluk, exec producer; Jennifer Walker, line producer; Kris Bonnel, DP. Casting Ground Glass Media Andrew Deiters, casting director. Editorial Zulobot Marissa Bergougnou, editor. Postproduction The Vanity Stephanie Pennington, exec producer; Hannah Bird, post producer; Michael Medeiros, compositor; Andrew Exworth, colorist. Audio Post/Music Cylinder Sound Brad Nelson, audio/music director; Joshua Mancuso, engineer.
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 filmโs 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 childโs 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 โ Preventive Programs, the founding organization of the โBullying-Free Schoolsโ program, which has been equipping institutions with resources to combat school violence for 12 years.
โResearch indicates that stains on a uniform can... Read More
