In 2018, we created Project 84 for mental health partners CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) and ITV (UK’s largest commercial TV station) putting suicide firmly on the national agenda

Six years later, following years of Covid lockdowns and an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis, the UK suicide rate was rising at an unprecedented rate. New data revealed that 125 people were taking their own lives, every week.

Talking can save lives. But people weren’t talking.

The isolation caused by the pandemic desensitised the public to rising mortality figures, regardless of their cause. Just stating the problem wasn’t enough.

Long-term mental health partners ITV & CALM sought to create a new kind of campaign that would humanise the statistics, by showing what “suicidal behaviour” really looks like. Not just to raise awareness, or to shock, but to incite action. To get people to ask “Are you really ok?”

People think they know what suicidal people look like: crying, desperate, defeated.

But the truth is far from that. People closest to them don’t always realise they need to know to look deeper.

In response, we created The Last Photo. In a broadcast first, ITV - the UK’s largest commercial TV station, in partnership with CALM - launched a gut-wrenching campaign. On “The happiest day of the year”, a central London portrait exhibition was revealed featuring pictures of happy, smiling, young people. ITV leveraged the power and reach of prime time show “This Morning” to reveal that these were the final photographs ever taken of people who had died by suicide.

With the simple message: “Suicidal doesn’t always look suicidal.”

The idea was designed, timed and placed to draw unprecedented media attention to the issue, triggering a conversation to match the scale of the UK’s suicide crisis.

We were briefed to develop a nationwide awareness campaign to increase conversations about suicide by elevating The Last Photo through earned comms.

The aim: speak to as many people as possible across the UK.

The insight: "suicide doesn't always look suicidal", and behind every suicide statistic is a real person, each with their own personality and reasons for taking that final step.

We created a suite of visual and video assets alongside commissioned YouGov research to offer newsworthy data to add additional weight and context to the issue.

Across various outlets, we delivered this first as a live piece on ITV's This Morning as the campaign landing page went live with QR codes on each image (and supporting DOOH) alongside a live phone-in, and providing vital practical support and advice.

Then, earned campaign assets went live, delivered via images and videos showcasing the exhibition and its meaning to media nationally.

On “The happiest day of the year”, 50 large photos of happy people appeared on London’s Southbank. No logos. No information other than a name and age.

Once the exhibition piqued interest, it was announced live on ITV’s national show, This Morning. They were the last photos of suicidal people.

A 90 second film launched mid-programme featuring people’s last videos. Later, it moved TV and cinema audiences.

QR codes turned the exhibition interactive with poignant family interviews.

ITV harnessed its flagship daytime programming and celebrity talent to keep the conversation going among millions of viewers with daily phone-ins and debate.

PR focused on the bereaved as well as ITV and CALM’s ambassadors.

Outdoor and press targeted cities and the communities where the subjects once lived.

Across every touchpoint, we directed visitors to practical suicide prevention tools.

The primary goal was to kickstart a national conversation about the true nature of suicide. In that, it was an unprecedented success.

The exhibition itself was seen by over 7.5 million live on ITV's This Morning.

500,000+ visited in person.

Throughout the week, individuals left unprompted photos of their deceased loved ones to join the event.

We achieved 1.6 billion impressions, triggering a rise in online conversations around suicide rose by 33%.

For 48 hours following launch, the campaign film was the most talked-about video on Reddit, globally - sparking a huge, constructive conversation about suicidal behaviour.

The campaign led to a 400% YoY increase in donations to CALM.

Most importantly, in the 6 months following the campaign, CALM prevented 161 suicides.