“One young woman dies by suicide every two days. No signal for help should go unseen.”

A new emotive campaign from VMLY&R for Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) spotlights unseen signals of suicide with the help of Lioness Fran Kirby.

With the Women’s World Cup underway CALM has launched its new campaign, Unseen Signals, which sees England Lioness and CALM ambassador Fran Kirby help tackle the rising rates of suicide in young women under 25. Over the course of this summer’s biggest football tournament, it is estimated 14 young women in the UK will take their own lives as ONS data shows one woman under the age of 25 dies by suicide every two days.

The hero film directed by Natalie Rae through Object & Animal shows Kirby on the pitch taking part in a match. Kirby is the focal point of the action and is taken down by a vicious tackle. While she lays on the floor in agony, hand raised, asking for help, the match continues on around her.

The whistle isn’t blown and the game continues despite her signal for help. As the match continues on, it becomes clear that no help is coming. The match and incident act as a metaphor for the signals for help that go unseen each day and lead to lives taken by suicide. The film ends with the poignant message: ‘no signal for help should go unseen. Your support could help save a life’.

The film was crafted using a mix of existing gameplay and green screen moments of Kirby calling for help and struggling. Teams at Framestore and The Assembly Rooms, helped stitch together the flow of shots and visual effects, to tell a dynamic visual story.

Although Kirby misses out on this summer’s tournament due to injury she is CALM’s newest ambassador and will use her platform to shine a light on the issue.

“The statistics are hard to digest, as these tragic numbers can be prevented.” says Kirby, “That's why I've teamed up with CALM to shine a light on this issue, and to tackle the stigma that prevents young women from getting the support they need when they're struggling. Like any team, we all have our part to play in making sure young women feel seen when they reach out.”

Bringing to life the harrowing statistics through football to raise awareness of an issue affecting women and girls makes the World Cup the perfect launch pad for the campaign.

“Being a part of culture has always been important to CALM, it's where we believe we can have the biggest impact in suicide prevention. So at a time when young women are front and centre on the world’s sporting stage, we knew we had to be a part of the conversation,” explains Dipika Saggi, Marketing Director at CALM.

She continues: “Suicide in young women is the highest it has been since records began, and something that we as society need to tackle now. Research showed that young women often feel unseen when they are struggling so through this campaign CALM hopes to provide the support and tools to ensure that no woman has to face her struggles alone.”

The campaign runs Online, ITV, Sky, Channel 4, Pearl & Dean Cinemas and The Outernet with further OOH and print executions. A mural, painted by French street artist Zabou, has been executed near the Bullring in Birmingham. Media planning and buying has been handled by 7Stars, PR by Hope&Glory PR, and talent casting by Entourage Sport + Entertainment.

With the help of one of the rising stars of the women’s team, the campaign causes audiences to stop in their tracks and encourages conversations with loved ones.