Suicide prevention charity CALM has partnered with ITV to shine a spotlight on the devastating cost of young lives lost to suicide with a harrowing activation at Westfield London.
Developed alongside creative agency Adam&EveDDB, ‘Missed Birthdays’ brings to the fore the growing epidemic of suicide in young people, which is now the leading cause of death in under-34s in the UK.
Running from 9 to 11 September and launched to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day, the activation uses the symbolism of birthday balloons, 6,929 of which will physically illustrate the lives lost to youth suicide in the last decade.
Visitors to the charity’s installation will also be able to hear intimate voice notes from people who have lost a young loved one to suicide, describing what that person was like and what they hope the ‘Missed Birthdays’ campaign will achieve.
“It’s devastating for a young person to not make it to their 15th, 16th, 17th birthday. It’s absolutely tragic when that reason is suicide,” said CALM CEO, Simon Gunning.
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“Over the last decade, 6,929 families have been affected by the tragedy of youth suicide. We want to thank everyone who shared their stories in this campaign for their strength and courage, and hope it can open up conversations and give everyone the tools to support the young people in their lives.”
With media planning and buying handled by The7stars, the hero work will be supported by a series of press, digital and out-of-home executions, set to be followed by TV and radio activity later in the year.
The campaign will also see the launch of the CALM C.A.R.E kit, a newly-launched resource designed to help equip trusted adults with everything needed to be there for a young person.
Adam&EveDDB ECDs Ant Nelson and Mike Sutherland added: “The numbers behind youth suicide are a sobering statistic. Talking about the number of lives lost to this tragedy is one thing, but seeing the sheer volume represented with birthday balloons and the ages these young people didn’t reach is another.
“We hope that anyone who engages with the campaign will be motivated to use CALM’s tools and help end youth suicide for good.”
