Create Not Hate / Shout 85258: Better Out, 2

The racist abuse hurled at Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho after the Euro 2020 final isn’t just about missed penalties and it isn’t confined to elite footballers. Young black men face racism every day, on top of the same stresses that everyone else faces, yet too often they feel obliged to put on a brave face. Shout’s research conducted by agency The Outsiders explored black youth culture and common barriers to mental health in the black community. They concluded that this is a group in which many boys and men are struggling with mental health but don’t feel like services like Shout are for them. Often there is a reluctance to open up about anxieties because of pressure to maintain a persona that’s strong and not overly emotional. Shout 85258 collaborated with Create Not Hate to create a campaign which addresses this. The new campaign, “Better Out” encourages young black males to take their mental health seriously, to open up and share their emotions, and to use the Shout 85258 text service to seek help if they need it - however big or small their worries. The campaign explores the insight around masking emotions through two different executions. The first is ‘Hide Your Unhappy’, a campaign which uses a provocative headline to grab the attention of a new demographic for the Shout helpline, which until now has been used mostly by young white women. The marketing campaign offers “Free Smile Masks” depicting the faces of smiling young men to help you “Hide Your Unhappy.” On the back of each mask is a message telling people that they don’t need to hide behind a smile, urging them to talk over their problems with Shout by texting BETTEROUT to 85258. The second execution is a video featuring a conversation between two young men that captures the superficial chat and the unspoken feelings behind it. This is another means of conveying the ‘Better Out’ message and how masking conversations can exacerbate negative emotions when feeling low. This will be shared across social media channels most popular with young people: Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. Total Media have generously supported Create Not Hate again by securing free media.

The campaign has been funded by Harry’s, a men’s care brand who have a social impact mission of giving to organisations that promote better mental health care for men. Globally, Harry's have donated over $5M, working with 14 charities worldwide.