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?”

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 TV.

500,000+ visited in person.

The reveal on ITV’s This Morning was seen by 1.48 million people.

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.

On Monday 20th June, we unveiled a huge installation of 50 smiling portraits on the South Bank – with no mention of CALM, ITV or suicide. Visitors saw people living what appeared to be happy lives.

On the morning of Wednesday 22 June, ITV revealed the truth of the exhibition live on This Morning (the UK's most-watched morning TV show).

The reveal: these are the last photos of people who died by suicide. Proof that suicidal doesn't always look suicidal.

The location was chosen to maximise both footfall and impact. Not only is the South Bank one of London’s most iconic central locations, it’s also a pedestrianised space that was perfect for reflecting on these stories.

QR codes at the exhibition drove people to a webpage featuring the full stories of those featured, recorded from interviews with their families. Subsequent pages led visitors to practical tools to help prevent suicide.

While conversations around general mental health have recently become more open, suicide is still a heavily stigmatised and deeply misunderstood topic in British culture.

And yet, with 125 people dying each week and 1 in 5 Britons claiming to have had suicidal thoughts, its effects are felt everywhere.

As the UK’s largest commercial TV station, ITV sees tackling this as one of its core CSR targets.

Given the British public’s reluctance to talk about suicide openly, disruptive and headling-grabbing campaigns are one of the strongest tools at our disposal to force the topic into national conversation.

This agenda forms the basis of ITV’s partnership with CALM - a partnership which has yielded some of the world’s most effective and creative campaigns to improve the nation’s mental wellbeing and prevent suicide.