Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) has collaborated with brand ambassador Declan Rice to encourage the UK to tackle loneliness together.
The ‘Invisible Opponent’ campaign is the first mental health awareness initiative the England and West Ham star has taken part in since joining the suicide prevention charity as an ambassador earlier this month.
A powerful 60-second spot sees Rice battle invisible opponents alone on the football pitch, deflating his attitude and performance as he plays. The video ends with the football player taking the hand of a teammate, with accompanying text reading: “You don’t have to be alone to feel alone.”
“No one deserves to struggle alone. That’s why it’s really important for me to use my voice to get people to talk,” Rice said.
“It’s about having that support network and having people you can speak to. Because no matter who you are or what you’re going through it should be easy to speak to the people you love. Just one conversation can make a positive difference.”
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The campaign will roll out alongside the World Cup and will also feature on out-of-home (OOH) billboards up and down the country.
CALM added: “3 million people in the UK say they feel lonely. That’s enough people to fill Wembley 33 times over. And right now the CALM helpline is answering more calls around loneliness than anything else.
“That’s why we need to tackle loneliness together. And show people, however you feel right now, you’re never alone. There’s always someone on your side and CALM is always here.
“We know loneliness is tough to deal with. But whether you’re struggling yourself or worried about someone else, we’ve got loads of tactics to help. So, you’ll be hearing more of this in the stands… “How are ya? How are ya?”
The news comes months after CALM launched its largest ever suicide prevention initiative in a bid to reshape the UK’s understanding of suicide.
Built around the phrase ‘Suicide doesn’t always look suicidal’, the ad featured real home videos of ‘apparently happy’ people enjoying life. Towards the end of the film it was revealed that all the videos featured were the last digital memories of people who later died by suicide.
CALM’s CEO Simon Gunning told Marketing Beat at the time: “If we understand that it happens to people that we recognise, rather than people that are abstract, then we can start to make it a part of our daily discourse and a part of our social function as a society by removing stigma.”
