• by Larissa Faw , September 6, 2018

To coincide with Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, the Ad Council, in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and the Jed Foundation (JED) are gathering an array of digital and social media shops to empower teens and young adults to reach out to friends with mental health issues who may be at risk for suicide. 

The effort, part of the broader "Seize the Awkward" campaign launched earlier in the year, includes entertainment media brand Billboard who will run donated media across its platform, in addition to creating a custom article, highlighting artists who have experience with mental health issues. 

The Ad Council’s first partnership with Twitch will include a three-day charity live stream, and Reddit will donate paid media to support an Ask Me Anything (AMA) with mental health experts on September 12. 

The Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen will insert themed postcards in its Playbill inserts throughout the month of September. On social media, the musical will also feature select Dear Evan Hansen lyrics to serve as "conversation starters" individuals can use to talk to peers about mental health.

CMT Group, a transportation service operating in more than 150 American cities, will run Seize the Awkward PSAs in taxis in New York City and select other cities through mid-September. 

Other participants in this campaign include Tumblr, Social Native, Shine, Goodtype, and celebrity influencers. 

The broader Seize The Awkward campaign officially launched in January, with Droga5 creating and developing the overall strategy, but this phase has been led by the Ad Council who specifically developed these activations with each partner.

Since the campaign's launch nine months ago, it has garnered 7.5 million video views and over 87,000 sessions on SeizeTheAwkward.org.