This year’s UK Mental Health Awareness Week ran from 14th to 20th May, helping to increase understanding and reduce stigma surrounding psychological conditions.

Here at Smoking Gun we don’t believe that should be the end of such campaigns, though— problems in the mind are present all year round, after all. Inspired by this point, we’ve compiled seven fantastic campaigns designed to improve knowledge and make the public act with more awareness when others might be having a tough time.

This year’s UK Mental Health Awareness Week ran from 14th to 20th May, helping to increase understanding and reduce stigma surrounding psychological conditions.

Here at Smoking Gun we don’t believe that should be it, though— such problems are present all year round, after all. Inspired by this point, we’ve compiled seven fantastic mental health campaigns designed to improve knowledge and make the public act with more awareness when others might be having a tough time.

Lifefaker (2018)
Launched at the end of last month, Lifefaker is basically a parody of social media’s insidious side. The non-existent service offers packages with names like The Unachievable Body, I Own All The Things, I Found Love and Babies, and My Weekend Was Amazing Thanks, each containing pictures and videos people can use to pretend they do things they don’t, bolstering their social media status.

Lloyds – Get The Inside Out (2018)
Winner of Channel 4’s Diversity In Advertising award, banking giant Lloyds showed it cared with this poignant display of how little many Britons understand about various mental health conditions, and how disabling they can be. Made in conjunction with the company’s long-term charity partner, Mental Health UK.

The Orange Project (2017)
A personal tragedy led to Jennifer Dee, vice president, director integrated production at McCann Torre Lazur, to start a hashtag #worthliving, with members of the public posting pictures of positive things in their lives. Hugely successful, despite lacking PR, this would eventually blossom into the Orange Project, which began last year.

Beyond Blue – Know When Anxiety Is Talking (2017)
Australian not-for-profit Beyond Blue opted to look specifically at anxiety with this campaign that highlights just how destructive related conditions can be on your career. it’s a relatively simple concept for an ad, reliant on misdirection, but one that offers a high impact when the big reveal comes.

The Power of Okay – See Me Scotland (2015)
This one is all about trying to encourage people to ask colleagues one easy but powerful question: “Are you okay???? Told in expletive-riddled prose, it’s a visually arresting prompt to get us all thinking more about each other, and acting on instincts when we sense there might be something amiss.

In Our Own Words – Mind (2014)
UK mental health charity, Mind, opted to get 13 people aged between 18 and 25 to explain the reality of living with their conditions for this advert. Most viewers never get the opportunity to hear such stories direct from sufferers, or the all-important ‘What Makes Me Feel Better’ and ‘I’d Like People To Treat Me…’ sections.

The Stand Up Kid – Time To Change (2012)
Ranking as the most awkward and hard-hitting of our choices, this clip made on behalf of Time For Change pulls no punches in trying to make young people aware of how prevalent mental health issues are amongst their classmates, and how easy it is to overlook the warning signs.