LENS: SEAT
Car brand, Seat, has partnered with mental health charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm) to encourage men to talk about their mental wellbeing.
The three-part video series titled, ‘The Language of Listening,’ is the latest collaboration between Seat and Calm. The video addresses the stigma surrounding men’s mental health using light-hearted comedy. It aims to show how important it is to listen and talk to your friends when they are struggling.
Calm reported a surge in the number of calls and webchats to the charity support service through the pandemic, with many people feeling isolated and suffering in silence. In response Seat Ateca and Calm created this campaign with the aim to encourage viewers to talk about their mental wellbeing with friends or family.
It features actor, Hugo Chegwin, as he gives advice to a friend while sat in a car. The setting was chosen after research found cars to be one of the best places to have meaningful conversations. This made the partnership with car brand, Seat Ateca, both impactful and authentic as the backdrop for people to have these meaningful conversations.
Each video has a subtly different message: listen up, just ask, and no distractions. The video follows the success of the previous Seat and Calm partnership, with the 2019 campaign, ‘Grow a Pair.’
Seat have also implemented internal changes to further demonstrate its support for the charity. Andy McGregor, head of marketing at Seat UK, says, “Every member of the management team, as well as first line managers, has completed a four-day mental health training programme to ensure that they can provide support when it is needed. We want to show that we can also ‘grow a pair’,” says McGregor.
Simon Gunning, CEO of Calm, says, "By working with our long-standing partners Seat in developing these films, together we continue to challenge unhelpful male stereotypes, and help men and their mates have those tricky conversations".
The series has been shared across social media channels and on the Seat UK website.