Revolt highlights a commonplace mental health struggle using subtext
Ruby Wax pops up in agency Revolt’s Mental Health Day campaign with charity Frazzled, capturing the struggles of social interaction.
Launched with the hashtag #WorldMentalHealthDay, Revolt has completely rebranded mental health charity Frazzled and created its first campaign, with a spot that represents the meaningless chats millions of us have every day.
Produced and directed by Ruby Wax’s husband Ed Bye, the ad uses humour to highlight the simmering subtext of painful office small talk to promote the online community platform Frazzled, which was developed following the success of Ruby Wax’s bestselling book on mindfulness.
The film shows two work colleagues at the water cooler speaking the looming thoughts that reveal their inner pain: “Disinterested question about work?,” one says, as the other responds with “fake laugh!”.
The take-home message, outlined by Wax at the end, is that niceties should be cut in favour of open emotional conversations, such as those offered in the group sessions on Frazzle.
Our take
We’re always fans of simple but poignant messages in ads, and this example uses impressive acting skills and humour to illustrate a scenario that’s familiar to nearly everyone, albeit far more so for some.
The routines of our everyday lives require a certain level of situationally appropriate social politeness, of course, but for many these dutiful interactions build up to thinly paper over their inner turmoil. Mental health services perform an important role in delving deeper via conversation, should a person feel the need.
Mental health, as I write, has taken a more prominent focus in the public lens due to recent tragic events. Revolt’s ad demonstrates just one of the many manifestations of this global issue.
Image credits: Campaign video created by Revolt.
Credits
ECD: Orlando Warner
CD/Writer: Matt Roach
Senior Creatives: Alice Dowdall, Adam Redmond
Director: Ed Bye
Business Lead: Dan Russell
Senior Business Consultant: Lucy Iron
Strategy Director: Rob Sellars
Senior Strategist: Emma Lane
Design Director: Jimmy Ginn
Editor: Emma Stockton
Senior Producer: Sagal Aden
Production Assistant: Lina Portnova
Sound Mix: Rowan Gill
Motion: Rob Wilkes
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