Time To Change: DON'T GET ME WRONG

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Integrated Media

Advertiser: TIME TO CHANGE

Product/Service: MENTAL HEALTH DISCRIMINATION AWARENESS

Agency: DARE

Agency: NAKED COMMUNICATIONS

Date of First Appearance: Sep 15 2010

Entrant Company: DARE, London, UNITED KINGDOM

Entry URL: http://www.time-to-change.org.uk

Executive Creative Director: Danny Brooke-Taylor (DARE)

Copywriter: Dan Gorlov (DARE)

Art Director: Rachel Le Feuvre (DARE)

Agency Producer: Sophie Jones (DARE)

Director: Debbie Anzalone (DARE)

Editor: Matt McKinnon (Peep Show)

Producer: Paul Weston (Partizan)

Sound Design: Graeme Elston (Jungle)

Account Director: David Mannall (DARE)

Account Director: Charlie Byron (DARE)

Media placement: National Radio - Heart, Absolute - 20 September 2010

Media placement: National Press - Sun, Mirror, News of the World, Now - 20 September 2010

Media placement: Online advertising & partnerships - Heat, Closer, MSN Partnership, Mirror.co.uk, Facebook - 20 September 2010

Media placement: YouTube & online documentary - YouTube - 20 September 2010

Media placement: TV - TBC - 20 September 2010



Insights, Strategy & the Idea

Time to Change is the UK’s leading charity working to end discrimination against the mentally ill. Social prejudice is the single biggest obstacle to successful living, hindering patients’ chances in finding love, work or even shelter. With a budget of just £50k our brief was to make people see the hurt their actions cause and to change their behaviour. The problem was: it is a prejudice most of us are unwilling to confront. We do it, but we don’t admit we do it – even to ourselves. So our solution was to introduce them to a real mental health sufferer, Erik, allow people to express their prejudiced responses and then replay these reaction back to them. In a unique online experiment, we let people hold a mirror up to their own ugly discrimination and confronted them with the evidence of their own prejudice.



Creative Execution

We created a bespoke online social experiment to prove, for the first time ever, the level of discrimination that exists. By placing a mental health sufferer on dating and flatshare sites we gathered clear evidence of people’s attitudes and exposed how prejudice affects the mentally ill in key areas of their social life. After weeks of data collection we could scientifically prove the true extent of discrimination. We then created a multi-media awareness campaign exposing people to their own prejudice before directly challenging them to change their behaviour. The entire social experiment was filmed, creating a documentary and online content, whilst press, radio and digital advertising gave the campaign wider reach and allowed it to benefit from a media multiplier effect. Further information and support was provided by the brand’s website and Facebook page (which has now garnered nearly 40k fans).



Results and Effectiveness

Despite our tiny budget, over 6 million consumers recognised our campaign and took in its message. Communication levels were exceptional: 85% came to see that those with mental illnesses face discrimination every day, 78% concurred they could be cruel without meaning to be, and over half admitted the campaign helped them challenge their own assumptions. Plus, 66% admitted to changing their behaviour as a direct result of the campaign. Furthermore, we generated hundreds of thousands of pounds of free PR, extensive radio coverage and the documentary was picked up and broadcast as editorial content on national TV.