The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) leveraged Qatar 2022 led spiking soccer interest by extending its ‘Invisible Opponent’ campaign to challenge stereotypes and help people open up about how they are feeling with a primary focus on ‘loneliness’: a significant problem in the UK with 3m people currently saying they feel lonely ‘some’ or ‘most’ of the time.
The UK campaign, which builds on heightened interest around England Football at 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup, is the next chapter of the charity’s ongoing ‘The Invisible Opponent’ initiative which originally launched in July 2021 featuring heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury.
Developed in harness with creative agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and health specialist agency Seven Stones, media agency The7Stars and production company PrettyBirds, the 2022 iteration of the campaign rolled out to maximise interest in football due to the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup and was fronted by England and West Ham FC midfielder Declan Rice.
The initiative tackles the topic of loneliness with the objective if encouraging more lonely people to seek support.
The campaign, which debuted on Sky Sports ‘Soccer AM’ programme spanned TV, outdoor, social media and media partnerships.
The hero ‘Invisible Opponent 2’ spot’, helmed by Director Robert Wilkins, depicts Rice battling invisible opponents in a haunting struggle that looks like the midfield general is fighting himself while a packed crowd looks on. The spot focuses on Rice playing a game that feels stacked against him.
As the video unfolds, relief finally comes as a hand extends to help Rice from the turf as CALM’s core message appears on screen reading ‘You don’t have to be alone to feel alone’ followed by a rallying cry ‘Let’s tackle it together’.
This spearhead spot acts as a metaphor for the mental health struggles that people so often face and the sense of isolation that comes from tackling them alone and aims to get more people talking and looking out for their friends and loved ones during a time in which more people than ever are turning to CALM’s helpline and web chat services for support.
‘The Invisible Opponent: Let’s Tackle It Together’ dropped on 23 November across the charity and the footballer’s digital and social channels and ran on TV as it sought to drive people online to learn more at https://www.thecalmzone.net/tackle-it-together/
“Everyone suffers at different times in their life and there’s so many people out there who feel like there isn’t a light at the end of the tunnel – but all it takes is a conversation,” commented charity ambassador Declan Rice. “It’s about having that support network and having people you can speak to. Because no matter who you are or what you’re going through it should be easy to speak to the people you love. Just one conversation can make a positive difference”.
“In the UK 125 people die by suicide every week – with 75% of those deaths being male. That’s not ok, and it doesn’t have to be that way. Now, more than ever, we must continue to challenge the stigma that prevents people from seeking the help they need,” said CALM CEO Simon Gunning in the campaign press release. “Anyone can feel lonely, no matter your age, gender or background. But everyone experiences that feeling in different ways. That’s why we need to tackle it together. And show people, however you feel right now, you’re never alone. There’s always someone on your side – and CALM is always here.”
CALM CMO Matt Jennings added: “Invisible Opponent is a powerful creative platform that enables us to challenge the stigma around mental health in a way that many can relate to without the cliches and tropes surrounding it. We hope this sends a timely message and goes someway to enabling people to speak up and seek the support they need”
AMV BBDO Strategy Partner Joe Smith and Seven Stoned MD Dan Russell commented: “We’re incredibly proud of this work and hope it will encourage more people to find the support they need, particularly at this challenging time of year. The campaign would not have been possible without the support and generosity of so many people who were committed to the idea and the cause, donating time, effort and footage.”
PRETTYBIRD Director Robert Wilkins said: “I am proud to be part of the conversation to help change perceptions around mental health and masculinity. That we’ve been able to get England hero Declan Rice onboard to speak up in this way will hopefully inspire a generation, particularly of men who are so prone to suicide. Declan shows us that it’s okay to be vulnerable and that the brave thing is to speak up and ask for help. He’s the modern hero.”
The campaign was created by a team at agency AMV BBDO led by Creative Director Zac Ellis, Writer Zac Ellis, Strategist Joe Smith and Account Manager Dan Russell and the other partners working on the project included Entourage Sports & Entertainment, Trim Editing, ETC, The Hotspring and Factory Studios.
Comment
A technically skilled spot blending high quality footage of England games with additional shot footage of Rice and involving removing all other players to achieve the lonely effect with notable lighting and interaction edits, music and sound in post-production to generate drama.
The charity will hope that the latest iteration of the campaign matches the strong results of the original 2021 work which helped to boost awareness of the charity by 50% – rising from 21% to 33% of the UK population between April 2021 and April 2022.
Other recent sports-themed CALM initiatives have included its 2022 ‘Pop-Up Deload London Barbershop’ with Gymshark and its 2021 Puma ‘Spark Change’ partnership.
By linking with sport, CALM seeks to challenge the stigmas around mental health, particularly amongst men. Indeed, it is men who most often hide their mental health struggles and are worried about appearing weak by speaking up. According to the charity, this prevents millions from getting the help they need and men account for 75% of suicides in the UK.
This is one of several UK charity marketing initiatives to leverage Qatar 2022 and other notable examples of the tactic include Melanoma UK’s ‘Fan Paint’ partnership with Lifejacket, youth homeless charity Centrepoint’s ‘Not Coming Home’ campaign with England’s John Stones, plus food redistribution charity Fareshare’s ‘Sweet Carol Rhymes’ Christmas World Cup single.
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