…even when they’re about things that can have tragic consequences. And even more so when the point of the campaign is to make something that seems dark and difficult to do easier. Like getting people to talk about mental health problems, or talking about them. Why make it scarier? That seems to be what Droga5 New York thought. The agency is opening up the doors for people to have conversations about mental health problems – big and small – with a series of light-hearted videos…
…and the personification of that door – the awkward silence. In the campaign films, the awkward silence is a bloke in a turtleneck jumper [aka Broadway star, Gideon Glick], who appears between people in uncomfortable situations and encourages them to talk.
DrogA5 has created the campaign – called Seize The Awkward – for The Ad Council, The Jed Foundation and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
At its heart is a hero spot that drops the awkward silence persona into several situations:
Around this are:
A primer about awkward silences:
Another, Just Ask, about asking if someone’s OK:
A third, Just Listen, about what to do when someone isn’t OK:
And a fourth, The Signs, about how to know if you should reach out to someone:
Added to these is a video series of personal stories by young celebrities like YouTuber, Remi Cruz, and Hannah Hart of My Drunk Kitchen, that gives insights into having and dealing with problems like OCD and social anxiety.
Two of the very many videos in this series are:
The campaign’s primary target audience is 16-24, and it is being supported by media partners, BuzzFeed, Upworthy, Facebook, Reddit and YouTube, textbook rental company, Chegg, outdoor ad firm, Colossal Media, and story-sharing platform, Wattpad, plus participants, IPG media agency, Initiative, and NFL franchise, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A long list of artists has contributed artworks that are being made into posters for college campuses and social media. The campaign website houses the films and contains detailed advice about dealing with problems and information about how to get help.
Credits:
Agency: Droga5 New York
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Executive Creative Director: Kevin Brady
Group Creative Director: Justin Ruben
Creative Directors: Will Lowe & Victor Monclus Gonzalez
Associate Creative Directors: Lisa Fedyszyn & Jonathan McMahon
Senior Copywriter: Mietta McFarlane
Senior Art Directors: Luke Chard & Camilo De Galofre
Copywriter: Sergio Alonso
Creative Technologist: Phil Pastore
Design Director: Michael Kleinman
Senior Designer: Jaymes Barone
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Co-Directors of Film Production: Jesse Brihn & Bryan Litman
Producer, Film: Brandon Chen
Associate Producer, Film: Caroline Vassiliades
Music Supervisor: Mike Ladman
Director of Business Affairs: Jocelyn Howard
Business Affairs Manager: Abigail Press
Strategy: Jonny Bauer, Harry Roman-Torres,Jennifer Lange & Emily Mulvey
Communications Strategy: Colleen Leddy & Kevin Wilkerson
Account management: Brett Edgar, Lauren LaValle, Celeste Pulman, Rosalie Bonner & Yardley Hansen
Project Manager: Kaki White
Production Company Anonymous Content + OPC
Director: Max Sherman
DOP: Chris Mably
Production (Anonymous Content): Kerry Haynie, Gina Zapata & Lori Stonebraker
Production (OPC): Harland Weiss & Donovan Boden
Producer: Ian Webb
Editing:l Rock Paper Scissors
Editors: Dan de Winter, Michael Shugarman & Joseph Tuzzolino
Post Production: The Mill
Music & Mix: Human & Post Human
Sound Design: Formosa Group
