Nominee | Communication | 2019
SVA Zürich, Arbeitgeberkampagne der IV-Stelle

Mental illness is still one of the taboo subjects in our society. There is often an inability to talk about it, both by the people affected and their employers but also in their private and professional environment. This seems even more awkward with mental health problems increasing in the workplace. In the meantime they have become one of the most frequent reasons why employees take sick leave. Against this background, the social insurance company Zürich has launched a campaign with the slogan “Mental health problems conceal the true face”, which raises awareness of the subject and offers help. The tbd agency from Zurich developed a series of five posters for this campaign, which were produced in a static (analogue), but also a moving (digital) version. People could be seen against a single colour background, but their real facial features could no longer be identified under extremely eye-catching, mask-like make-up. Psychiatrists developed a typology of psychological problems of employees that served as source of inspiration for the make-up of the masks.
Comments of the nominators
This commendable campaign moved a social taboo subject which has been paid too little attention previously into public awareness: mental health problems, which are often not easy to identify and their effects. The faces that have been alienated as a result of the mask-like make-up – the central image idea of the poster series – provoke attention through irritation. The campaign’s greatest effectiveness occurs in the digital version, in which the rigid masks suddenly start to move.
Comments of the jury


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