CALM’s stunning installation features 6,929 birthday balloons for those lost to suicide

The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and agency adam&eveDDB have teamed up for another powerful anti-suicide campaign, this time blowing up 6,929 birthday balloons for an installation at the Westfield London mall—one for every person lost to suicide in the U.K. in the last decade. Each balloon has the age of the victim’s next birthday—the one they didn’t reach. “Missed Birthdays,” which follows the famous campaign “The Last Photo” from 2022, will be live at Westfield London through Wednesday. (Tuesday is World Suicide Prevention Day.) Visitors to the installation will also be able to to hear intimate voice notes from loved ones who have lost a young person to suicide. The stunt is so powerful because it puts the scale of the problem on display, much as Change the Ref’s “The Lost Class” activation did for gun violence. “Missed Birthdays” will also be supported by a print and oudoor campaign spotlighting the stories young people lost to suicide, which is now the leading cause of death for people under 34 in the U.K. Media agency the7stars negotiated media partnerships for the campaign. CALM and adam&eveDDB worked with Creative Giants on the design and build of the installation. Children's Scrap Project will reuse the balloons for a range of arts and crafts projects after the installation ends. “It’s devastating for a young person to not make it to their 15th, 16th, 17th birthday. It’s absolutely tragic when that reason is suicide,” said Simon Gunning, chief executive officer at CALM. “We want to thank everyone who shared their stories in this campaign for their strength and courage, and hope it can open up conversations and give everyone the tools to support the young people in their lives.” “The numbers behind youth suicide are a sobering statistic,” said Ant Nelson and Mike Sutherland, executive creative directors at adam&eveDDB. “Talking about the number of lives lost to this tragedy is one thing, but seeing the sheer volume represented with birthday balloons and the ages these young people didn’t reach is another. We hope that anyone who engages with the campaign will be motivated to use CALM’s tools and help end youth suicide for good.” “Missed Birthdays” made possible by funding from the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation. More Creativity coverage from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

CALM’s stunning installation features 6,929 birthday balloons for those lost to suicide

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