Depression is frowned upon in the Middle East. Due to the stigmas around mental health issues more than 66% of cases go undiagnosed. Serviceplan Middle East has collaborated with Dubai Science Park and Thrive Wellbeing Centre on a print and outdoor campaign, to raise awareness about the problem and encourage people to seek help.
The campaign, Hostages of Depression, is built around one of the most telling symptoms of chronic depression, Hypersomnia or oversleeping. Visuals and words in the three ads are deliberately simple to capture attention and provoke thought.
Oussama Founi, associate creative director, Serviceplan Middle East, commented, “To visually represent how undiagnosed depression can incapacitate you, we created three unique and striking visuals. Illustrated by hand and then coloured digitally using hues that evoke an emotional response. The feeling of being stuck in a vicious cycle of self-doubt was metaphorically represented using a bed.” The illustrations are by Jiawen Chen.
The insight behind the campaign was that depression is not the victim‘s fault. When symptoms of depression are left undiagnosed, they can dig you deeper into self-doubt and push people further away from recovery. The approach of Serviceplan Middle East was to inform people that what they’re mistaking for flaws in themselves, could be symptoms of a common mental illness. Hostages of Depression tells people to stop doubting themselves and know that it’s okay to seek help.
Dubai Science Park, a community for healthcare businesses and professionals, briefed Serviceplan Middle East on the issues behind the campaign. Dubai Science Park is known in the Middle East region for fostering an environment that supports research, creativity, innovation, and passion, ensuring a supportive ecosystem for businesses to establish sustainable and positive change. Medical health is an important aspect for the entity, and it wants to progress this conversation steadily. Thrive Wellbeing Centre is a leading mental health clinic in the UAE, that has developed a test to help people accomplish their goals. The test was based on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and is an easy to use self-administered version of the PRIME-MD diagnostic instrument for common mental disorders. It helps to identify the frequency and severity of depression symptoms and allows people to determine if they need professional help.
Credits
Agency: Serviceplan Middle East
Chief Creative Officer: Akhilesh Bagri
Worldwide Executive Creative Director, Serviceplan Group: Jason Romeyko
Creative Directors: Saleh ElGhatit & Ande Couto
Associate Creative Directors: Oussama Founi & Sameer Suri
Art Directors: Oussama Founi & Saaniya Abbas
English Copywriter: Sameer Suri
Arabic Copywriter: Rana Ahmed
Managing Partners: Rami Hmadeh, Natalie Shardan & Azhar Siddiqui
Client Service: Ramy Abdelrehim & Kathleen Angeles
International Communications Officer: Lee Sharrock
Client:
Managing Director, Dubai Science Park: Mawran Abdulaziz
Executive Director, TECOM Group: Reem Shaban
Marketing Director, TECOM Group: Saad Yusuf
Marketing Manager, TECOM Group: Amy El Askary
Psychologist & Managing Director, Thrive Wellbeing Centre: Dr. Sarah Rasmi
Media Agency: Mediaplus
Illustrator: Jiawen Chen @ Caper Illustration
