- Suicide is the leading cause of death for 15 – 34-year-olds in the UK
- Tragically, 6,929 young adults have taken their own lives over the past decade**
- CALM unveils a powerful new installation of thousands of birthday balloons – each one representing the age a real young person didn’t reach due to them taking their own life
- This World Suicide Prevention Day (10th September), CALM has launched the CALM C.A.R.E. Kit, an evolving, free online resource which provides adults with practical tools around talking about suicide with a young person
[London, Monday 9th September 2024]: Today sees the launch of Missed Birthdays, the next installment in adam&eveDDB’s ongoing work with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) in partnership with ITV, the suicide prevention charity on a mission to help people end their misery, not their lives.
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 seeks to turn the tragic increase and magnitude of youth suicide into an unignorable and nationwide talking point.
At the heart of the campaign is a major activation at Westfield London which will be live between 9th and 11th September, including World Suicide Prevention Day on 10th September.
The installation uses a universal symbol of celebration, birthday balloons, to deliver a somber message of loss and raise awareness of the tragedy that is youth suicide. It will feature 6,929 balloons, each one representing a young person who has died by suicide in the last decade** and the birthday they did not reach.
Visitors to the installation 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 Missed Birthdays campaign.
Supporting the project, the7stars has negotiated a number of strategic media partnerships to deliver a fully integrated campaign with mass reach, including content and editorial coverage across Press, Digital and OOH. TV and radio is 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 spotlights 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.
Through this campaign, CALM and ITV aim to unite the public in addressing the tragedy of youth suicide and empower every adult to play a role in protecting young lives.
Simon Gunning, Chief Executive Officer, CALM, says: “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, comment: “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.”
Mehul Ashra, Strategist at the7stars, added, “Our challenge was to deliver these important stories in an articulate, compelling, and channel-appropriate way. We only collaborated with media partners who shared our passion for creating impact and raising awareness. Each partner developed the personal stories to deliver authentic and powerful messages through their channels and talent. We thank all the media owners who contributed, for making this campaign possible.”
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 & 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. The live event finishes on Wednesday, 11 September, when 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 (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/suicide-women-rates-young-women-b2266064.html)
**Statistics based on latest available data taken between 2012 – 2022.
Official Partner: ITV
Official Sponsor: Iceland Foods Charity Foundation
CLIENT: Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)
Simon Gunning Campaign Against Living Miserably CEO
Dipika Saggi Campaign Against Living Miserably Marketing Director
Pippa Rogers Campaign Against Living Miserably Delivery Lead
Wendy Robinson Campaign Against Living Miserably Services Director
Elizabeth Charlesworth Campaign Against Living Miserably Head of PR and Communications
Emma O’Sullivan Campaign Against Living Miserably Social Media Manager
Sarah McGuire Campaign Against Living Miserably Head of Creative Operations
Danny Wright Campaign Against Living Miserably Creative Copy Lead
Annabelle Letten Campaign Against Living Miserably Content and Editorial Lead
Milly Whyman Campaign Against Living Miserably Performance Marketing Manager
Sam Quinton Campaign Against Living Miserably Art Director
Georgey Lee Campaign Against Living Miserably Graphic Designer
CREATIVE AGENCY: adamandeveDDB
Rick Brim adamandeveDDB Chief creative officer
Ant Nelson adamandeveDDB Executive creative directors
Mike Sutherland adamandeveDDB Executive creative directors
Jay Parekh adamandeveDDB Creative
Forrest Clancy adamandeveDDB Creative
Nikki Cramphorn adamandeveDDB Head of Integrated Production
Sally Pritchett adamandeveDDB Head of Integrated Production
Jaki Jo Hannan adamandeveDDB
Head of Print production &
Experiential
Sally Patterson adamandeveDDB Producer
Brittany Littlewood adamandeveDDB Producer
Catarina van Leuven adamandeveDDB Assistant Producer
Hannah King adamandeveDDB Producer
Miranda Hipwell adamandeveDDB Chief executive Officer
Cicely Milsom adamandeveDDB Business Director
Carrie Pollock adamandeveDDB Account Director
Jude Green adamandeveDDB Account Executive
Martin Beverley adamandeveDDB Chief strategy officer
Will Grundy adamandeveDDB Head of planning
Jack Gilbert adamandeveDDB Senior planner
Rasha Noronha adamandeveDDB Project director
Tom Campbell adamandeveDDB Senior Legal Council
DESIGN AGENCY: King Henry Studios
Scott Silvey King Henry Studios Head of Design
Oliver Watts King Henry Studios Designer
Dave Callow King Henry Studios Head of Artwork
Sam Harris King Henry Studios Designer
Jon Webb King Henry Studios Retouching Studio Manager
Dan Jackson King Henry Studios Retoucher
CREATIVE PRODUCTION AGENCY: adamandeveDDB studios
Tara Thompson adamandeveDDB studios Senior Shoot Producer
Stephen Mead adamandeveDDB studios Director of Creative Content
Jay Tijani adamandeveDDB studios Print Producer
Tony Hutton adamandeveDDB studios Print Producer
Dean Cronin adamandeveDDB studios Artworker
Trev Malone adamandeveDDB studios QC Operator
Sam Kim adamandeveDDB studios Technical Motion Lead
Gareth Evans adamandeveDDB studios Print Producer
Pata Malecka adamandeveDDB studios Resource Manager
James Ireland adamandeveDDB studios Head of Editing
MEDIA AGENCY: the7stars
Ben Edwards the7stars Strategy Director
Mehul Ashra the7stars Strategy Director
Chris Gilfoy the7stars Head of Strategy
Helen Oakley the7stars Client Lead
Lewis Shaw the7stars
Managing Partner; Investment &
Commercial
Michelle Sarpong the7stars Commercial Lead
PR AGENCY: Hope & Glory
Don Ferguson Hope & Glory Deputy MD
Amber Druce Hope & Glory Senior Account Director
Amy Jones Hope & Glory Creative Director
Melissa Bristol Hope & Glory Senior Account Manager
Rebecca Buckby Hope & Glory Senior Account Executive
Liam Sheppard Hope & Glory Account Executive
Ella Thompson Hope & Glory Account Executive
TECHNICAL PRODUCTION AND CREATIVE PRODUCERS: Creative Giants
Simon Vaughan Creative Giants Director
Ben Kearns Creative Giants Design Director
Maree
Featherstonha
ugh Creative Giants Producer
Balloon Room Balloon Architects
PF events Technical production and AV
Outback Rigging Rigging
Conex Walling Walling
Westfield Rise Venue
Event LX Lighting
AUDIO POST PRODUCTION: 750mph
Olivia Ray 750mph Head of Production
Giselle Hall 750mph Sound Engineer
PHOTOGRAPHY PRODUCTION: Together Associates
Joss Mckinley Together Associates Photographer
Jon Simpson Together Associates Producer
Ethical Casting Agency: Six Minutes Casting
Josie Cole Casting Director
Rebecca Lloyd-Evans Co-Founder
BTS FILM & STILLS
Ollie Larkin Interval Films Founder & Director
Oliver Nias Obstacle Films Founder & Executive Producer
Simon Elsbury Obstacle Films Camera Operator
Tom Legge Obstacle Films Camera Operator
Ross Turner London Drone Company Drone Capture
Tim Rundle Spiers London Drone Company Drone Capture
Harry Mitchell Photographer
