Mental Health Association teams up with Foote, Cone & Belding to launch education campaign on mental illness.

Mental Health Association teams up with Foote, Cone & Belding to launch education campaign on mental illness

The Mental Health Association (MHA) in Los Angeles County is currently launching an unprecedented national public education campaign on mental illnesses. The campaign entitled "Mental Illness. The Way We Treat It Is Insane." -- features broadcast and print PSAs as well as supplemental media and entertainment kits, a teachers handbook, posters and brochures designed to educate people about mental illness and to eradicate misconceptions which have prevented the mentally ill from gaining public support and acceptance.

The Mental Health Association collaborated with Foote, Cone & Belding Advertising and Laufer Associates Public Relations to develop the powerful print and broadcast PSA materials and public education campaign. Created pro bono by Foote, Cone & Belding, the unique broadcast PSAs feature MHA's Project Return Players, an inspiring improvisational troupe of men and women recovering from mental illness, in two heavy-hitting 30 second spots which focus on the homeless mentally ill. The print materials consist of four compelling ads designed to educate readers about the stigma of mental illnesses. Cumulatively, these materials will help to raise awareness about the harmful myths and stereotypes that results in discrimination against mentally ill people.

Currently, the broadcast PSAs are airing on four Los Angeles television stations, including KTTV, KTLA, KCBS and KCOP. ABC and CBS networks will begin airing the PSAs on primetime in January, and NBC will soon follow suit. National magazines planning to run the print PSAs include U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, BusinessWeek, Good Housekeeping, McCall's, the New Yorker and a host of others.

"The fact is, mental illness affects five of 10 families in America, and the most visible daily reminder of that is the homeless," said Larry Kopald, Executive Creative Director at Foote, Cone & Belding.

"Mental illness of any kind can trigger very strong reactions in people, usually negative. We needed to acknowledge that, yet try to encourage greater understanding and empathy for all of its victims. The biggest problem most people with mental illness face isn't the illness itself -- it's the fact that we don't think of it as a disease, and therefore those suffering don't get the funding or compassion they need. Our goal is to educate and motivate. To hit some nerves. It's unconscionable that the government just threw a million ill people onto the streets."

"We were delighted that such a prestigious agency as Foote, Cone & Belding committed itself to this ambitious effort and important cause," added Richard Van Horn, chief executive director of MHA. "We have worked with Foote, Cone to convey the message -- that mental illnesses are treatable diseases -- in a compassionate way that will encourage people who need treatment to seek it. This campaign has the potential to open up housing and job opportunities for people with mental illnesses and to create public pressure for much needed increased research and service funding."

The prestigious Keck Foundation originally awarded MHA a generous grant of $125,000 to create educational materials for the public about mental illnesses. The project has since taken off and is now endorsed by the National Mental Health Association. All affiliates of the National Mental Health Associafion across the country will be sent a package explaining the campaign and giving them the option to participate on a local level.

A second tier to the campaign will be educating the entertainment industry about mental illnesses. MHA and Laufer Associates have already developed an information kit with detailed fact sheets on schizophrenia, major depression, multiple personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and children's emotional disturbances. Meetings will be set up with writers, producers and directors in the entertainment industry to dispell common myths about mental illness as portrayed in television and film. The factual materials are designed to stimulate more accurate portrayals of mentally ill people in the media and thus reduce public stigma.

"We see this campaign as a combination of creativity, talent and compassion," said Ann Stone, associate executive director of MHA. "The combined efforts of everyone involved in this campaign have given it such power and conviction. Every PSA director approached so far has praised the spots as timely and compelling and are anxious to join in the effort. It's been very encouraging, although we have a long way to go toward truly changing peoples' perceptions."

"We are very proud to be working on this groundbreaking campaign. It is only by taking a strong stand that we can begin to effect change," said Jessica K. Laufer, president of Laufer Associates.

"Already, we have seen tremendous changes in the public and media attitudes -- we still have a long way to go -- but this is a giant step forward."

The Mental Health Association in Los Angeles County (MHA) is a non-profit corporation with a mission to "educate about mental illness, advocate for and serve mentally ill people."

Foote, Cone & Belding's Los Angeles office handles such diverse accounts as Mazda, Sunkist, Mattel, Orion Pictures and Toshiba. In addition, it has a long history of pro bono work, dating back to when it created Smokey Bear for the U.S. Forest Services (which FCB still handles today) and includes more current involvement with the Sierra Club regarding the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Laufer Associates Public Relations specializes in social issues marketing. The public relations firm represents the Mental Health Association and has been working with MHA, most recently focusing on L.A. County's mental health crisis and clinic closings.

Riverrun Films, a Los Angeles-based commercial production company filmed and produced the PSAs. "The true measure of the worth of any society is not the largesse it showers on those at the top, but the levels of basic sustenance, shelter, care and education it delivers to those at the bottom," commented David Dwiggins, executive producer and co-owner of Riverrun. Barry Young, a well-known commercial director who directed the spot for Riverrun, has been touted for his ability to create a "Los Angeles of the mind" on film by blending together architecture and street life. The executive producers were David Dwiggins and Dennis Conors.

The Project Return Players' fast-paced performance, "When Laughter Takes Over," has brought them critical acclaim from audiences of health and mental health professionals in Los Angeles and nationwide. Calling themselves "Stigma Busters," the Players use comedy to break down the myths and misconceptions surrounding people with mental illness.