In London, September 9-11, 6,929 balloons, the symbol of birthday celebration, are reminding visitors to Westfield of the tragic loss of suicide. Each balloon represents a young person who has died by suicide in the last decade, and will never have a birthday again. The installation covers World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10. Visitors will be given the opportunity to hear intimate voice notes from loved ones who have lost a young person to suicide, describing what they were like and what they hope to achieve in being part of the campaign.

The installation is part of Missed Birthdays, the next instalment of adam&eveDDB’s ongoing work with suicide prevention charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), in partnership with ITV.

Suicide is now the leading cause of death for people under 34 in the UK, with women under the age of 24 forming the fastest growing group in history at risk of taking their own lives*. Missed Birthdays aims to turn the tragic increase and magnitude of youth suicide into an unignorable and nationwide talking point.

Tp support the project, the7stars has negotiated a number of strategic media partnerships to deliver a full campaign with mass reach, including content and editorial coverage across press, digital and OOH. TV and radio are planned for later in the year.

CALM’s long-term partnership with ITV continues with programming dedicated to youth suicide; live broadcast and interviews on ITV’s flagship daytime programme, This Morning, with CALM CEO, Simon Gunning, and services director, Wendy Robinson, and loved ones of young people who feature as part of the campaign.

Missed Birthdays will also be supported by a press and out-of-home campaign that highlights the stories young people lost to suicide. JCDecaux, Bauer, Reach, Outernet, Mail Metro, Evening Standard, News UK, Guardian, Clear Channel and Ocean Outdoor are all backing the cause with channel specific and locally targeted messaging to deliver maximum impact and relevance.

To enable trusted adults to play an active role in ending youth suicide, all messaging in the campaign will direct to a newly-created resource, the CALM C.A.R.E. kit – a suite of practical tools and resources designed to equip trusted adults with everything needed to be there for a young person – from introducing the topic to keeping them safe in crisis.

Simon Gunning, chief executive officer, CALM, stated, “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. 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.”

Ant Nelson & Mike Sutherland, executive creative directors, adam&eveDDB, 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.”

The Missed Birthdays campaign is made possible by funding from the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation (IFCF).

CALM and adam&eveDDB worked with Creative Giants on the design and build of the installation at Westfield, White City, where great care has been taken to ensure it is as sustainable as possible, opting for air filled foil balloons, manufactured in the UK. After September 11, the installation will be donated to charity Children’s Scrap Project who will reuse the balloons for a range of arts and crafts projects, including children’s workshops, drama projects, back drops, displays, collage, sensory rooms, holistic play and a variety of educational projects.

*Office for National Statistics, deaths registered as suicides in England and Wales for the year 2021.

**Statistics based on latest available data taken between 2012 – 2022.

Credits: