• by Les Luchter , March 21, 2024

Mental health advocate Elmo -- yes, the “Sesame Street” character -- stars in a new “Love, Your Mind” PSA campaign debuting today from the Ad Council and Sesame Workshop.

In late January, Elmo set off a national mental health discussion with his simple X post, "Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?" As of Wednesday, the post had received over 20,000 responses and 215 million views.

Tweaking the question a bit, “Elmo’s just checking in…How are YOU doing?” asks a digital out-of-home ad that’s part of the new campaign.

Elmo and his Muppet friends also star in a :30 PSA, offered in both English or Spanish, that focuses on the value that music -- humming in particular -- brings to emotional well-being.

In the spot, the characters hum the “Sesame Street” theme, with Elmo commenting, “Elmo’s daddy taught him that when he has a big feeling like being frustrated, humming a song can help you feel better. We all have good feelings and we all feel for one another.”

A second PSA from the Ad Council and Sesame Workshop is set to premiere in May.

The overall “Love, Your Mind” campaign, developed by Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council, is part of the latter’s record-breaking seven-year $65 million Mental Health Initiative.

The new spot ends with a QR code that allows brings viewers to “mental health tools for the whole family” at a Sesame Workshop hub.

Sesame Workshop and the Ad Council have worked together for over a decade on various initiatives, including an autism screening campaign and Elmo promoting COVID vaccines for kids.

 “Sesame Workshop has been a trusted partner for parents and providers for over 50 years,” Samantha Maltin, chief marketing & brand officer, Sesame Workshop, told Marketing Daily, touting the company’s “expansive library of emotional well-being tools” that “meet children and families where they are, whether that’s through our TV show, our social impact work in communities around the world, or online through social media.”