The powerful videos, from Cummins&Partners, want to help men talk about their mental health.
Cummins&Partners has teamed up with Movember Foundation to globally release a series of online videos to raise awareness of men’s mental health in the lead up to World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September.
Disguised as ‘how-to’ videos – where a man takes the viewer through simple tasks such as ‘Make a soda can fishing rod’ and ‘Never run out of a gas again with this simple trick’ – each video demonstrates the importance of taking the initiative to ask men how they are doing, and not just assuming everything is OK.
While the video subtitles appear to mirror the men’s actions, when the viewer is prompted to un-mute, they’ll hear a completely different story that shows the hidden message about men who are beginning to show signs they are struggling.
Research has shown that whilst 70% of men say they are ‘there for their friends’ when they need support, only 48% are prepared to go to someone when they’re struggling themselves – bringing to life the need for those around men to take themselves off ‘mute’ and start the conversation.
Cummins&Partners creative director Doogie Chapman says: “Men’s mental health is an important topic worthy of everyone’s best efforts. We are constantly looking for ways to inspire these much needed conversations amongst men, and the response to-date has been extremely gratifying and generous”.
Since it’s release, the campaign has been shared across global publications, media and blogs including Huffington Post, Mashable, TripleM, Nova and The Daily Mail, with a steady stream of social support.
The Movember Foundation’s suicide prevention campaign is a key strategic component of their goal to reduce the rate of male suicides by 25%, and ultimately, the number of men dying prematurely by 25%, by 2030.
