Gender stereotypes stop us from expressing ourselves and our emotions. Ladies are believed to be emotional while men are expected to express fewer signs of sensitivity. In the UK only, 84% of men say they bottle up their emotions, and around half of them (44%) say they suppress their emotions often or at least once a day. Given the current global context, feelings such as loneliness and isolation amongst men have increased. Since the beginning of lockdown, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) helpline has answered 84,954 calls and chats and directly prevented 282 suicides.

The NGO that leads a movement against suicide wants to raise awareness around men’s mental health and, just in time for International Men’s Day, the charity launched a campaign that stars England international, and CALM ambassador, Joe Marler. Created with the help of agency Recipe, CALM’s campaign can be seen via a one-of-a-kind YouTube video, which hides a message.

The “Finding the Words” video starts with Marler sharing his positive feedback regarding a “great win” on the rugby field. It’s just the typical interview athletes give after a match which fans will have seen over a million times. But this interview right here is quite different; once he finishes his message, the ambassador turns to the camera and asks the viewers to hover the mouse’s cursor over the video’s timeline to get the real story.

As the viewers go back and follow the instructions, they find out that Marler’s positive message is actually a description of someone who is feeling down. The film shows how important words can be lost between the lines. Having struggled with talking to his teammates about his own mental wellbeing, the rugby player is familiar with the distorted belief that opening up about our emotions is a sign of weakness.

“The more I’ve spoken openly with my friends and family about my issues, the stronger I’ve felt. It’s strong to be open and honest about how you feel, it’s not a weakness. I was really excited about the prospect of this project helping people to understand that it’s okay to struggle, it’s okay not to be okay, and that they’re not alone in how they’re feeling,” Marler says.

Matt Waller, Creative Director at Recipe, said, “This is a clever platform hack which shows us the importance of looking behind the ‘brave face’, that our friends and loved ones may present to us, especially in these times when we are spending more and more time behind a screen.”

Talking to someone about your feelings and internal struggles can be hard. With this campaign, CALM wants to tackle the stigma surrounding men’s mental health and encourage them to embrace their emotions. Because, if “Joe Marler can show us his softer side and vulnerabilities, so can we all,” ads Waller.

Credits:

Client: Campaign Against Living Miserably

Agency: Recipe