Missed Birthdays
Campaign Against Living Miserably

6,929 birthday balloons for 6,929 young lives lost to suicide

10 years ago, the biggest killer of UK children was traffic accidents. By 2024, it had become suicide, claiming 6,929 young lives within a decade.

It’s against this backdrop that Campaign Against Living Miserably sought to make the crisis unignorable to everybody to protect more young lives from being lost.

Launching ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day, at the heart of our campaign was an installation of 6,929 birthday balloons in UK and Europe’s largest shopping centre - Westfield London.

Colourful from afar, only on closer inspection was it revealed each balloon represented a young life lost to suicide and the birthday they never reached.

As people walked through, they listened to intimate voice notes from over forty parents, siblings, friends and other family members, all who had lost a young person to suicide.

We launched on ITV’s ‘This Morning’ who also debuted our follow-up film four months later, that shows a young girl, Evelyn, growing up through home footage. The film abruptly ends with the reveal Evelyn never reached her 16th birthday.

At every step of the campaign, we pointed people towards the C.A.R.E Kit, a simple guide designed to help adults talk about suicide with their children.

I definitely can’t do justice to how much work went into this from everyone but if you want to hear more about it, just reach out.

And if you find yourself struggling, the CALM Helpline is free and open every evening 5pm to Midnight. Call 0800 585858 or visit www.thecalmzone.net.

My role:

Senior Strategist

Made with:

Jay Parekh, Forrest Clancy, Ant Nelson, Mike Sutherland, Will Grundy, Cicely Milsom and Carrie Pollock

Agency:

adam&eve\TBWA

Awards:

Cannes Lions Gold x1 - Outdoor

Cannes Lions Silver x1 - Health & Wellness

Cannes Lions Bronze x1 - Media