The Belgian Suicide Prevention Centre faces a double challenge: they need to recruit volunteers for the prevention lifeline. At the same time they want to raise awareness and open discussion.

The campaign focuses on the singularity of pre-roll videos: after 5” you can skip the advertisement.

Suicide prevention is about taking the time to… listen. In the pre-roll a woman tells she can’t cope with life.

The video adapts its message to the viewer’s behavior. Bad listeners skip the ad and get an awareness message. People who listen till the end, are invited to apply as lifeline volunteer.

The campaign focuses on the singularity of online pre-roll videos: after 5 seconds you’re free to skip the advertisement.

In the pre-roll a woman tells she feels bad, can’t cope with life anymore. She clearly is very desperate.

Most people don’t feel concerned and push the ‘skip’ button: the suicidal woman then walks to the edge of the roof. An awareness message from the Centre appears: “Not listening can have unexpected consequences. We do listen”.

Some people however don’t skip. Those good listeners are invited to become a recruit for the prevention lifeline.

The digital campaign combines a double challenge in one pre-roll: awareness and recruitment. The video adapts its message to the viewer’s behavior. Bad listeners skip the ad and get an awareness message. People who listened until the end, are invited to apply as a lifeline volunteer.

Results for the recruitment part:

The goal was to find 5 suitable volunteers.

After 2 weeks there are already 25 candidates and the campaign is still running

Results for the awareness part:

The campaign got a lot of press coverage and suicide prevention in hectic times became a hot topic.