Missed Birthday’s was the third installment in our ongoing work with Campaign Against Living Miserably in partnership with ITV, the suicide prevention charity on a mission to help people end their misery, not their lives.
As part of the campaign, we launched a TV film featuring Evelyn’s story.
Evelyn’s mum beautifully narrates the film, remembering her daughter’s beaming smile, kind heart and amazing hugs. The words form an emotional letter to Evelyn ahead of her birthday and in the final frame, she is seen holding up balloons, celebrating her 15th birthday. Towards the end of the film, viewers learn that Evelyn never celebrated her 16th birthday.
Evelyn is one of 6,929 young people who have taken their own life in the past decade.
At the heart of the campaign was a major activation at Westfield London which went be live between
9th and 11th of September 2024, including World Suicide Prevention Day on 10th September. The
installation used a universal symbol of celebration, birthday balloons, to deliver a somber message of
loss and raise awareness of the tragedy that is youth suicide. It featured 6,929 balloons, each one
representing a young person who has died by suicide in the last decade* and the birthday they did not
reach.
Visitors to the installation were given the opportunity to hear intimate voice notes from loved ones who lost a young person to suicide, describing what they were like and what they hope to achieve in being part of the Missed Birthdays campaign.
Supporting the project is a fully integrated campaign, including content and editorial coverage
across Press, Digital and OOH. TV and radio is planned for later in the year.
To enable trusted
adults to play an active role in ending youth suicide, all messaging in the campaign direct to a
newly-created resource, the CALM C.A.R.E. kit – a suite of practical tools and resources designed to
equip trusted adults with everything needed to be there for a young person – from introducing
the topic to keeping them safe in crisis. More information is available at: https://care.thecalmzone.net/
*Statistics based on latest available data taken between 2012 – 2022.