How Hogarth’s R U OK? Day Campaign Tackled the Nuances of Male Friendship
Australian suicide prevention non-profit R U OK? released a campaign from Hogarth Australia for R U OK? Day 2024.
The poignant film captures a year-long friendship, highlighting the significance of ongoing conversations about mental health and support.
The ‘Ask R U OK? Any Day’ campaign also encouraged Australians to check in with loved ones regularly.
Dan Michael Jones, senior content creative at Hogarth, shares his insights into crafting the work.
Speaking to LBB’s Tom Loudon, Dan breaks down the importance of reaching younger men, the decision to depict conscious and unconscious check-ins, and the creative collaboration that brought the film's nuanced moments to life.
Dan also reflects on the challenges of creating an authentic and relatable message that resonates with all Australians.
LBB> What was the initial brief from R U OK?, and how did Hogarth Australia approach it? Can you describe the process of translating the wide-ranging research into the campaign’s final concept?
Dan> Our initial brief from R U OK? gave a clear, concise, and pointed direction that formed the basis of this year’s campaign.
Previous campaign engagement statistics, accompanied by data which showed that people's confidence in initiating check-ins and conversations fluctuates throughout the year, presented us with three clear asks from the client:
- Increase Australia's confidence to check in and initiate conversations by reassuring them that they check in with those they care about regularly throughout the year, often without realising.
- Boost awareness and engagement across the year to increase comfort and confidence in starting a check-in and increase their frequency.
- Reinforce R U OK? being important year-round, not just on R U OK? Day.
A key creative decision we made early in the process was to ensure we spoke to the year-round opportunities for check-ins that could happen “any day” instead of “every day”. In collaboration with the client, we landed on ‘Ask R U OK?, Any Day’ – a territory that scored the highest regarding content addressability.
When ideating and writing our TVC, we were able to craft our characters, check-ins, and situations to speak most directly to an audience signposted in the research as less engaged and more challenging to reach – younger men.
LBB> How did you decide on the specific interactions and check-ins depicted in the film? What was the creative rationale behind these choices?
Dan> We wanted to show a diversity of interactions and check-ins and needed to see two people checking in with each other when life was going smoothly - as well as when things were more complex and a more severe conversation was needed.
These interactions needed to be shown in situations that felt ‘real’ and not purely constructed to drive emotion. It was also vital that we were modelling behaviour that could inspire our audience to start check-ins throughout the year.
LBB> The campaign showcases support through both conscious and unconscious acts. How did you ensure this nuance was effectively communicated?
Dan> A massive part of the success of this project was something we strive to do through all our creative work at Hogarth – making sure those we bring on to work with us to make things are allowed to have as much input into what’s being made as possible.
With this brief, director Simon Robson and I very naturally and immediately fell into a working relationship that felt like working as a creative duo – rather than a traditional creative/director relationship.
We were able to draw on our own experiences as both support givers and those needing support through check-ins and R U OK?-style conversations and moments. Having the time, space, and working relationship where we could go beyond the surface level when crafting characters, dialogue, and situations meant that much of the nuance of what is shown was born through these sessions.
When it came time to shoot, that nuance was strengthened even further through the impeccable work of our incredible talent – Alfie Gledhill and Angus McColl. Despite having never worked together before and not meeting until a few days before shooting, their skills meant that the nuance of these situations didn’t just come through in what was said and how it was filmed.
The score was the other element of the film that buoyed the nuance of the piece so much. Glenn Sarangapany from Electric Sheep composed a beautiful piece bespoke to the film that moves effortlessly between scenes and moments and allows performances to shine.
LBB> How did you ensure this message was compelling and actionable in the campaign?
Dan> It was all about showing a range of conscious and unconscious check-ins, displayed in various situations and with a range of emotions at play. We had to ensure that our piece didn’t just focus on one or two key moments but showed R U OK? behaviour across the course of a year.
The piece, as first written, was intended to be more of a mixed media work – something very much in director Simon Robson’s wheelhouse and one of the things that first drew him on board. But when it came to shooting and capturing our moment, we realised the gold was in the mixture between the brilliant performances and DOP Peter Eastgate’s beautiful photography.
LBB> What were some key challenges in producing a campaign with such a sensitive and important message?
Dan> One of the lines we had to tread most carefully was ensuring that our message and behaviour modelling would resonate with a specific hard-to-reach demographic while also feeling real and relatable for ALL Australians.
We wanted to craft a piece that depicted a deep, supportive friendship rather than a romantic relationship, which meant pushing the envelope of what is conventionally shown when it comes to friendship.
For this film to work, we needed to show these characters breaking barriers that are often set up – things like stereotypical male reservedness, being guarded off and pridefulness. We needed to show that it’s ok to check in when it feels right and say, “I’m here if you need”, so that someone can open up when something is weighing them down.
LBB> What feedback have you received from viewers, and how do you think the campaign has influenced conversations about mental health and suicide prevention in Australia?
Dan> There’s something we’ve heard from many people – and something so rewarding and pleasing for us to hear – is that it just feels real. When you’re writing dialogue, crafting scenarios and creating characters to deliver a message like this, that’s what you strive for.
We’re so proud that this doesn’t feel fake, trite, or throwaway to people.
The other feedback we’ve had that we hold dear is a sense of amazement that we were able to achieve what we did – considering the budget and time we had to execute again. That’s a testament to the incredible number of incredible people who gave their time and skills in service of an organisation and a message they honestly believe in.
LBB> How did the diverse range of media – cinema, TV, online video, animation, audio, social content, OOH, and digital – contribute to the campaign's overall impact?
Dan> Through our TVC/cinema/online videos, we could directly show examples of check-ins and conversations to all Australians and to a particularly hard-to-reach audience – who were reflected in our characters and their situations.
Through animation, we were able to design and share a more rational expression of our campaign theme – explaining what “any day” can look like and giving examples of when and how check-ins and conversations can be started.
Through our OOH and digital content, we built a design and messaging framework that clearly and concisely expressed our theme – and could be easily made addressable and personalised to unique audiences and specific times of the year.
