There is a mental health crisis among our country’s youth. Young adolescents (10-14) are experiencing increased rates of mental health challenges and youth of color, in particular, face the additional trauma of systemic racism and greater challenges in accessing the support they need. The objective was to create an album of exclusive songs inspired by the emotions described in multiple one-on-one conversations.

Sound It Out places an emphasis on reaching parents and caregivers in Black and Hispanic/Latinx communities, which often face the additional trauma of systemic racism and greater challenges in accessing the support they need. The artists participated in intimate conversations with middle schoolers and their caregivers, facilitated by mental health experts, and translated the kids’ emotions and experiences into songs.

“Getting middle schoolers to open up about their emotions can be hard, but music is a powerful medium that helps us put our thoughts and feelings into words. When we can’t find a way to say it, there’s probably a song that can,” said Heidi Arthur, Chief Campaign Development Officer at the Ad Council. “At a time when it couldn’t be more needed, Sound It Out uses music to help parents and caregivers have more meaningful conversations with their kids about their emotional wellbeing.”

Bustle Digital Group, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok and ViacomCBS are among the media platforms that supported the campaign with donated media. Additionally, ViacomCBS provided custom content and content integration as part of their ongoing focus on tackling mental health crisis through media and storytelling.

Sound It Out is the result of Ad Council and Pivotal Ventures partnering with a coalition of organizations. The exclusive album was made available to stream across all DSP's including Amazon Music, Apple Music, deezer, Google Play, iTunes, Pandora, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tidal and YouTube. The campaign helped break down stigmas around emotional wellness in our youth by creating these ever-so-important tools.