Today, we see the backlash of social media platforms. Mental illness amongst teenagers due to social media’s warped ideals is the fastest growing health issue of our time.

We carried out a survey revealing that one third of all girls feel like failures, and half of teenagers are unhappy with their bodies. This can have devastating consequences - both for the individuals and for society as a whole.

As an insurance company with a focus on youngsters’ health and wellbeing, we wanted to change this and help teens see beyond the fake façades of social media.

To do this, we had to shatter the myth of perfectionism once and for all and make individuality the new perfect. We would then introduce where it matters most – the classroom.

We disrupted the source of the problem - the perfect feeds of social media influencers - with an imperfect object: a white asymmetrical t-shirt, which was unfinished and back-to-front.

Influencers were intrigued and started to share a new trend in their feeds - imperfection. They became the voice making a statement against themselves – to alter the norm.

A message that went straight into the feeds of their followers.

We then launched the #ImPerfect web series which, because of the wishes of the teenagers involved, became part of the school agenda and established social media as a new subject in Swedish schools.

The challenge was to reach kids and teenagers and drive the subject all the way into the classrooms. But why would they listen to an insurance company?

To initiate the movement we needed to borrow someone else’s voice - the role models on Instagram. The item we used to carry our message was the exact opposite of fashion and perfection - a basic, imperfect t-shirt. We released the t-shirt during Stockholm Fashion Week to implement a new fashion trend - imperfection.

The influencers were hooked on the idea of not having to be perfect for once, and joined the movement against their own established image. In order to engage teenagers in the debate we initiated a web series, created and led by the youngsters themselves. Being able to drive their own cause increased their engagement in the issue.

We began by carrying out a survey, which revealed the seriousness and scale of the of problem of depression and bad self-esteem amongst teens. To fuel the movement we worked together with the Swedish musicians and fashion icons Icona Pop, and the progressive fashion designer Ida Klamborn – all of whom were eager to make a statement on the issue.

We released the t-shirt during Stockholm Fashion Week and at the Elle Fashion Gala, where Icona Pop were the hosts and the centre of attention.

The #ImPerfect initiative quickly escalated into a grass-roots movement that engaged teens in the idea of imperfection as the new norm. They shared pictures, wore the tee, created their own films and even organised a charity gala. In 2 weeks we had launched a new trend based around imperfection that eventually made it all the way to into the classrooms as a new school subject.

Media reach: 33 million

Social organic reach: 12 million

Total reach: 45 million

Social engagement: 3.1 million impressions

The project initiated a movement where imperfection took over Instagram feeds resulting in healthier ideals on social media. The ImPerfect t-shirt was worn voluntarily by hundreds of influencers, artists and fashionistas, e.g. major stars such as Swedish artists Tove Styrkke and Miss Li, who shared the message in their feeds as a statement against their own perfectionism. Swedish pop star Eric Saade wore the t-shirt at the Swedish Grammy awards where he was awarded best dressed person by Aftonbladet – one of the biggest newspapers in the Nordic countries.

Teens requested the web series be part of the school agenda and the web series had over 3000 downloads to schools all over Sweden.

Corporate goals:

After the project, the company was rated as the no.1 sustainable insurance company in Sweden.