Social media in India is inundated with dark memes that teens share to talk about their mental health issues. In a country where mental health conversations are still taboo, and therapy is considered unaffordable, teens find recourse and relatability in sharing these bleak memes with each other. Whereas, what they should be doing is talk to qualified experts, like counsellors and therapists, to feel better.

So, we made the same dark memes, a social media mainstay, talk to teens and urged them to talk to therapists. In a tone that was light, yet empathetic and encouraging.

The topic of mental health in India is still a taboo, and therapy is considered unaffordable. Teens in India struggle to open up, and choose unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with mental health issues.

Fiama, a brand that champions joyful living, decided to help.

The objective of the campaign was to normalise conversations around mental health in the larger society, and offer teens a safe, non-judgmental space to open up, share their feelings, and find healthy ways to cope.

In a country where mental health conversations are still taboo, and therapy is considered unaffordable, teens find recourse and relatability in sharing bleak mental health memes with each other. Whereas, what they should be doing is talk to qualified experts, like counsellors and therapists, to feel better.

So, for the first time ever, we made the same dark memes talk to teens, and urged them to talk to therapists, instead.

We tied up with Minds Foundation, an NGO with qualified therapists, and offered therapy at a price that could easily fit their monthly pocket money.

Our Talking Memes nudged teens to talk to experts for help, and more importantly started a much needed conversation about mental health in the larger society.

We used social listening to understand how the youth in India was coping with their mental health and made an interesting observation. Social Media was a haven for the youth to express their true selves without the fear of judgement from peers-&-parents alike.

Social media platforms in India are inundated with dark memes that teens share to talk about mental health issues. In a country where mental health conversations are still taboo, and therapy is considered unaffordable, teens find recourse and relatability in sharing these bleak memes with each other.

Our approach was to present the familiar format of dark memes, but with an unexpected twist. For the first time ever, these tiny, static memes started talking to its viewers, and urged them to talk to experts about their mental health. We even made therapy affordable, so that more people are encouraged to open up.

We used A.I. and film to recreate some of the most shared mental health memes. While they looked like regular, static memes, for the first time ever, they unexpectedly started moving and talked directly to its viewers.

We roped in popular Indian celebrities who were already part of widely shared memes to urge teens to seek professional help, instead of sharing memes.

10 Talking Memes were released over a course of a week on Instagram, and Facebook - two of the most used platforms for sharing memes.

The campaign went live on World Mental Health Day - 10th October, 2022.

A second burst of the campaign released on International Meme Day - 15th November, 2022, a day where memes, especially Mental Health memes take precedence.

We also held Open Mics with popular influencers who spoke about the topic in front of a live audience, which was also streamed online.

For the first time ever, tiny, static memes started talking to its viewers, which initially surprised its viewers. People tagged their friends, commented on the posts, expressing surprise in different ways. Popular celebrities who were part of memes, decided to be a part of our Talking Memes.

It garnered a total reach of more than 45 Million, along with more than 184 Million impressions, with brand salience seeing an 8% increase

But more importantly the number of sign-ups saw a 9X increase, with thousands of hours of therapy offered, till date. Which is a testament to people actually considering therapy as a healthier way to deal with mental health issues.

Teens in India use dark memes to talk about their mental health issues. In a country where mental health conversations are still taboo, and therapy is considered unaffordable, teens find recourse and relatability in sharing these bleak memes with each other. It is behaviour, which in reality is an unhealthy coping mechanism, that we wanted to address and change. So we offered them a solution that is both healthy and at the same affordable. How? By presenting the solution in a format they love - dark memes - but with an unexpected twist. A twist where the characters of the memes they are so used to sharing came alive and talked to them, in a tone that's empathetic and encouraging.

We released the campaign on World Mental Health Day, which falls on the 10th of October, every year. We did a second burst of the campaign on the 15th of November, which is International Meme Day.

While, on both these days, people are used to seeing several memes, for the first time ever, popular static memes came alive and spoke directly to its viewers.