Mental health charity Movember has created a moustache shaped bench to inspire men to have more conversations with each other in the run up to its annual initiative.
The pop-up, which was unveiled yesterday (17 October) in London’s Borough Yards, kicked off during the morning rush hour and ran between 9am and 6pm.
The moustache-shaped Movember bench functions like a see-saw and can’t balance on its own, needing another person to make it balance normally.
This symbolism taps into the importance of men having conversations with each other about mental health (around two out of every three deaths by suicide are men). The media agency behind the bench is Bicycle London.
The aim of the campaign is to inspire more men to sign up to a Movember challenge, whether that be growing a moustache or walking 60 kilometres throughout November.
These challenges will help raise money for men’s mental health, suicide prevention and testicular cancer and prostate cancer initiatives.
Movember director of young men’s health literacy, Tom Ellis said: “Checking in with your mates is one of the most important things you can do to help – as it’s not always obvious when someone is struggling.
“Our Movember ‘A Problem Halved’ bench physically represents how conversations lighten the load, and that life becomes easier with someone by your side.”
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The “A Problem Halved” activation forms part of a wider campaign in the run up to the charity’s annual Movember campaign. Last year’s blockbuster advert by DDB Melbourne will re-run across TV, alongside activity such as out-of-home, podcast and radio, which will include Peter Crouch’s podcast “Therapy Crouch”.
Earlier this year, Movember created a touching Father’s Day campaign centred around remembering fathers who had passed away with fond personal messages.
Bicycle chief strategy officer and co-founder Graeme Douglas said: “It’s all well and good encouraging people to talk, but facilitating it is way, way more effective.
“By giving people space to interact with each other in a creative, engaging way, we’re able to not only give people a literal space to connect but we’re also able to do it in a way that breaks down some of the barriers that sometimes exist when starting a conversation. Work like this continues to place Movember at the forefront of the men’s mental health space and it’s a privilege to be able to help.”
