Why mental health marketing needs more than brand-safe messages

With half the global population projected to develop a mental health disorder during their lifetime, how can marketers talk about mental health constructively? Most marketing campaigns about mental health are brand-safe but lack the honesty and specificity—and often, discomfort—that create the space for meaningful dialogue. Here are four principles to guide constructive mental health marketing, and how some brands are getting it right: Start with empathy and kindness Sneaker brand On has always stood against the competitiveness of the sports industry, encouraging people to embrace the joy of movement over winning. Data-Driven Marketing Playbook Join us May 22 in NYC to explore how data powers marketing Learn more here In 2025, the brand partnered with Sesame Street’s Elmo, who became an icon for mental health after his viral “How is everybody doing?” moment in the “Soft Wins” campaign. Elmo tells runners to celebrate their soft wins—“Feeling good. Could that win?” The question is based on the human truth that we often forget how to be kind to ourselves in the pursuit of goals. Instead of a run-of-the-mill ad about working hard for greatness, On flipped the script and asked us to embrace the “soft wins” we get every time we exercise—a simple yet kind request based on a feeling we can all relate to. Brands often consider what product they’re trying to promote before anything else, and the mental health message becomes an afterthought. This leads to campaigns about how lipstick will fix your confidence or how music will cure your anxiety. Instead, we should start by understanding our audience's problems and struggles. Mental health is complex, and when we talk to and understand people, we can present them with simple messages that mean something. Show up where you are needed It seems like a no-brainer to show up on World Mental Health Day. But Calm—the app that helps people build mental wellness habits and exercises into their lives—found a better time to connect with audiences—Election night, 2024, a stressful moment for many Americans. Calm bought 30 seconds of silence on three of the biggest U.S. networks to give everyone a moment of reprieve. Calm put its money where its mouth is and gave audiences an actual breather when needed. As marketers, we need to forgo the lowest-hanging fruits and look for the moments when mental health is challenged. Doing so shows that we understand what people are going through and opens up the opportunity to make an impact on how people are feeling and coping. Go beyond the clichés A quick search for anxiety or depression yields predictable images: tear-stained cheeks and somber gazes out the window, all with a grayscale filter for extra sadness. But that portrayal is so one-dimensional it alienates most people’s lived experiences. Even as Asia’s mental health conversations are still in the early stages, we see meaningful efforts to overturn these limited stereotypes. In Singapore—where an alarming 90% of young people report recent struggles with mental health, yet less than half are considering seeking professional support—the government initiative Real chose to steer clear of clichéd stock images of sad faces. Instead, Real uses vibrant, abstract illustrations with hard-hitting, no-BS headlines that allow young people to see their struggles reflected without feeling pigeonholed. This shows them that they don’t have to look a certain way to get the support they need. The reality is that people smile through their depression or grit their teeth through impostor syndrome, feeling as if their problems aren’t valid or important enough. Instead of hiding behind platitudes, marketers and brands should be bold about the issues people face and allow them to be well and truly seen. Ad Age Small Agency Awards Showcase your agency’s creativity, business success and commitment to a thriving workplace. Enter today Make a long-term commitment Mars’ Maltesers stands for moments of lightness to bring about healing and connection, including to new mothers. What began as a partnership with the charity Comic Relief culminated in impactful campaigns such as #MassiveOvershare and #LoveBeatsLikes. These campaigns fought to unpack the biases against mothers; 1 in 10 women develop a mental illness either during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth—and feel guilty if they’re not the picture of unconditional love. Maltesers is shining a spotlight on the often-complex thoughts and feelings of new mothers and how often they are dismissed or villainized for them, showing its care for maternal mental health. Mental health should not be a one-off or a nice message without real impact. It’s all well and good to tout the importance of mental wellness when it’s a trending topic, but those conversations have been had over and over again. The reality is we don’t live in a post-stigma world, and it is only through a consistent and years-long commitment to mental health that we can go beyond lip service and create real change. See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here

Why mental health marketing needs more than brand-safe messages

Featured Stories