Social activist, producer (15 Minutes of Shame; American Crime Story: Impeachment), public speaker and Vanity Fair contributing editor Monica Lewinsky has launched this emotional PSA encouraging us to stand up to the biggest bully we rarely confront: Ourselves.
The message is well timed as October is Bullying Prevention Month. New data reveals 74% of adults agree they are their own worst critic, with the majority admitting negative thoughts get in the way of succeeding in life.
Titled “Stand Up To Yourself,” this PSA asked people to share their innermost insecurities and negative feelings about themselves in conversation with loved ones. These heartbreaking, unscripted moments capture common themes across the diverse group.
The debut work emerging from Lewinsky and creative agency Mischief @ No Fixed Address, Stand Up to Yourself helps viewers to internalize that self-bullying is still bullying. PR firm behind the initiative is Dini von Mueffling Communications. The PSA was directed by Dylan Maranda via production house Sequoia Content
“For Bullying Prevention Month 2023, I wanted to explore a creative concept that focused on the mental health aspects of bullying – especially coming out of the pandemic. Arguably our most intimate relationship is the one we have with ourselves,” shared Ms. Lewinsky. “An exercise I participated in over a decade ago – writing a list of negative things I said to myself and then having to read them aloud was a wake-up call to how cruel I was being – talking to myself in a manner I would never to talk to someone I love. This PSA aims to reshape how we think about negative self-talk by recognizing that the biggest bully we may know is sadly the one in our head. While we might never be able to fully eradicate the inner bully, we can quiet them more often and be kinder to ourselves.”
As in past Lewinsky campaigns, the PSA is created in support of 10 of the world’s leading anti-bullying and mental health nonprofits. This year’s campaign gratefully supports the following organizations: The Childhood Resilience Foundation, The Diana Award, Project Rockit, Ditch The Label, Sandy Hook Promise, Anti-Bullying Alliance, Heartmob, the Hetrick-Martin Institute, Children Mending Hearts and The Tyler Clementi Foundation
Kevin Mulroy, executive creative director and partner at Mischief @ No Fixed Address, said: “Nobody wants to think of themselves as a bully. But the reality is we all are, every time we look in the mirror. Nobody speaks more cruelly to us than ourselves. It’s hard to imagine speaking as harshly to someone else as we routinely do to ourselves. We all have these thoughts rattling around in our heads that are just poison for the soul. So, this campaign sprung from a simple question: why is it ok to say these awful things to ourselves, if we’d never in a million years say them to someone else?”
