World Mental Health Day: Best ads that shined spotlight on depression and anxiety
How brands did their bit to raise awareness about mental health and erase the stigma surrounding it
World Mental Health Day is observed every year on October 10 to raise awareness about the silent pandemic of our times. According to World Health Organization, there has been a 13% increase in mental health conditions and substance use disorders due to demographic changes.
One in five lives with the burden of mental health and 20% of the world's children have a mental health condition. COVID years have also seen a spike in mental health problems as worries about job security and health loom.
Needless to say, talks and discourse around mental health topics have increased. Since ads are a reflection of our life and times, brands have also devised campaigns on mental health in a bid to educate and erase the stigma surrounding it.
Here are some of our top picks for the best mental health ads and campaigns of our times.
Future Generali
Private general insurance company Future Generali had made mental health its pivot for India's "unaddressed mental health problem," according to its CMO Ruchika Varma. The company launched its #HealthInsideOut campaign two years ago on this very day.
Apart from getting India's top athletes to talk about mental health, Future Generali also curated an interesting stop-motion series of ads where everyday objects -- a fed-up pillow, a half-torn stress ball and an almost-broken vase -- complain about being at the receiving end of their owner's mental health issues.
E Suresh and his team at Eekasaurus Studio brought these personable videos to life.
Cadbury Bournvita
Cadbury Bournvita, which encouraged competitive spirit in 'Taiyyari Ki Jeet' campaign, re-aligned its tone almost a decade later to focus on the mental health struggles of children in a highly competitive environment.
The brand's digital-first ‘Get The Message’ campaign aimed at raising awareness around kids’ mental and emotional well-being. Conceptualised by Ogilvy, the campaign was created with the help of The MINDS Foundation.
This year in August, the brand also rolled out a 4-minute short film ‘The Boy Who Failed’, which focused on normalising failure as opposed to celebrating victory.
Man Up
Society is ruthless to men who wear their hearts on their sleeves and are often ridiculed for shedding tears. Men are also asked to toughen up and suffer in silence.
Funded by the Movember Foundation, Man Up is a three-part documentary series and social awareness campaign to bring attention to the male suicide crisis. "It takes a man to feel," says the short ad film, which normalises men crying and expressing feelings.
Dobara Poocho
Touted as India's first nationwide public awareness campaign on mental health, Dobara Poocho is true to its name -- "Ask again." It urges caregivers, family and friends to ask their loved ones whether they are truly doing well as they claim. It highlights how people often suffer in silence and may not express their struggles at the get-go. So, it's crucial to ask them the question "How are you" again in order to get them to open up. The campaign was launched in 2016.
Prega News
Pregnancy and childbirth are often portrayed as joyous occasions where women seamlessly adjust to their new roles as mothers. However, the truth is that women often struggle with postpartum depression due to a variety of factors.
It's an under-recognised problem and can put women at risk for suicidal behaviour. Most women have to report to work without having completely recovered from it.
Prega News shines the spotlight on this issue with #YourSecondHome campaign created by ADK-Fortune. It urges corporates to be empathetic towards their female staff who have returned from their maternity breaks.
Maybelline
Maybelline launched its Brave Together initiative to highlight the "other pandemic" of our times. The brand has also kick-started #RaiseYourHand campaign featuring Olympian PV Sindhu who urges people to start talking about mental health.
