TAKE A DEEP BREATH

TitleTAKE A DEEP BREATH
BrandSUICIDE ZERO
Product/ServiceSUICIDE ZERO
Category A07. Not-for-profit / Charity / Governemt
Entrant ÅKESTAM HOLST Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation ÅKESTAM HOLST Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production FLICKORNA LARSSON Stockholm, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Rickard Beskow Åkestam Holst NoA Creative & Partner
Michal Sitkiewicz Åkestam Holst NoA Creative & Partner
Magnus Jakobsson Åkestam Holst NoA Creative Director
Jesper Månsson Åkestam Holst NoA Production Manager
Kjell Månsson Åkestam Holst NoA Account Director

View Script

Write a short summary of what happens in the radio or audio execution or campaign.

This radio spot starts like any mindfulness breathing exercise where a calm voice is giving instruction on how to find peace of mind. But after a short while, the mood changes. Instead of asking you to breathe out, the voice encourages you to keep holding your breath. And as time passes, you feel that it gets harder and harder. The purpose of this is to illustrate that it works the same for people who are having suicidal thoughts. The longer they are forced to keep the thoughts to themselves, the tougher it gets. And that’s why we end the spot with an important message. That you should talk to people who might be having suicidal thoughts in order to help them.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

In Sweden, 1500 people take their own life every year. For a small country like Sweden, that’s a huge number. Suicide Zero is a well-known organization working to reduce suicide and to help people who are struggling with suicidal thoughts. Many who have suicidal thoughts are forced to carry this burden all by themselves. And the longer they keep it to themselves, the tougher it gets. And that’s why we created this radio spot. The radio spot is inspired by mindfulness exercises. In Sweden, it’s a trend that gets bigger for each year where people are trying to find peace of mind through exercises that many times does focus on a sound experience. By creating our own mindfulness exercise and broadcast it, we found a way to get our message out and to encourage more people to talk to persons who might be having suicidal thoughts.

Script. Provide the full radio advert script in English.

There are many ways to improve your well-being. Just sit back and relax, close your eyes and follow my instructions. Start by taking a deep breath. Hold it. And then slowly exhale through your nose. One more time. Take a deep breath, fill your lungs with air and hold it. Feel how a sense of harmony spreads throughout your body. Feel how life-giving oxygen penetrates every cell of your being. You’re completely relaxed. Keep holding your breath. Now it’s getting harder. Your body says no. You’re running out of oxygen. You can feel your pulse in your arms and legs. An unpleasant feeling. The only thing you want to do is let the air out and get rid of this feeling. You can breathe out now. But there are many who can’t breathe out. In Sweden, thousands of people have suicidal thoughts every day. The longer they keep it to themselves, the tougher it gets. But you can help them. Talk to the person you believe might be having thoughts like these – it can save lives. Read more about how we can reduce suicide on suicidezero.se