The Missed Birthdays campaign is created for the charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) by adam&eveDDB in partnership with ITV. It is prompted by research showing that suicide is now the leading cause of death for people under 34 in the UK, with women under the age of 24 forming the fastest growing group in history at risk of taking their own lives.

To raise awareness of the magnitude of youth suicide, CALM has installed 6,929 birthday balloons, each one representing a young person who has died by suicide in the last decade, at Westfield’s White City location in London. It is on display to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10).

Visitors to the installation can listen to intimate voice notes from loved ones who have lost a young person to suicide, where they describe what they were like and also what they hope to achieve in being part of the Missed Birthdays campaign.

Accompanying the installation is a series of press, digital and OOH ads that highlight individual stories. These also feature birthday balloons, with the use of these cheerful objects – normally reserved for celebration – providing a striking visual contrast to the tragic message of the campaign.

To enable trusted adults to play an active role in ending youth suicide, all messaging in the campaign will 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.

CALM has become renowned for its innovative and unexpected campaigns promoting its mission of suicide prevention. In 2022, for example, it launched The Last Photo with adam&eveDDB and ITV, which focused on how “suicidal doesn’t always look suicidal”.

CALM and adam&eveDDB worked with Creative Giants on the design and build of the Westfield installation, where great care has been taken to ensure it is as sustainable as possible, opting for air filled foil balloons, manufactured in the UK. The live event finishes on September 11, when the installation will be donated to charity Children’s Scrap Project who will reuse the balloons for a range of arts and crafts projects.

Credits:
Agency: adamandeveDDB
CCO: Rick Brim
ECDs: Ant Nelson, Mike Sutherland
Creatives: Jay Parekh, Forrest Clancy
Design Agency: King Henry Studios
Head of Design: Scott Silvey
Designer: Oliver Watts, Sam Harris
Head of Artwork: Dave Callow