Finalist 2025

Silence Stops His Story | End Silence. End Suicide

End Silence. End Suicide. An unapologetically bold campaign breaking silence to ensure no mans story becomes history.

Silence Stops His Story is an unapologetically bold brand campaign our team curated for our client, Murray PHN, to address men’s suicide.

The campaign confronts the silence, stigma, and isolation that contribute to suicide, highlighting the untold stories of men at risk.

The campaign’s tagline End Silence. End Suicide. evokes the urgency of connection, hope, and conversation to save lives.

Anchoring the project was authenticity and research, supported by a Reference Group of people with lived and living experience.

The campaign spans TV ads, social media, print, website, convenience advertising, and digital — ensuring no man’s story is lost to silence.

Design Brief:

Approximately 2,500 men die by suicide in Australia every year, accounting for about 75% of national suicide deaths. Our client identified this as a crisis that simply couldn’t be ignored.

Our challenge was to create a campaign that drove action and change, directly addressing men’s suicide and dominant ideals around masculinity that prevent men from seeking help.

It was vital our brand ideation leveraged insight from people with lived and living experience to ensure authenticity and reach. The brief called for a bold, strength-based brand, adaptable for local communities, and aligned with best practice guidelines for safe communication.

The intended outcome was to drive help-seeking behaviour, encourage uncomfortable conversations, educate those around men about how to reach in, and instil hope in men at risk of suicide — ultimately ensuring no man is left behind.

This project was developed by:

2 Dam Creative
Murray PHN

Video for men's suicide prevention campaign, promoting urgency, urging viewers to break silence and seek help.

Two posters featuring the suicide campaign slogan

Laptop screens showing a suicide prevention campaign with highlighted text

Three mobile phones showing social media posts with the slogan

Poster in a public bathroom with campaign message

Design Process

From the outset, our design process was driven by urgency and responsibility to address a crisis claiming approximately 2,500 men’s lives in Australia annually.

We began with deep, collaborative research, working closely with a Reference Group of people with lived and living experience of suicide. Their insights grounded every creative decision in authenticity, ensuring our work was relevant, respectful, and truly reflected suicide realities.

Our research extended into studies on suicide prevention, male help-seeking behaviour, and effective men’s mental health messaging. We created detailed audience segments and personas, mapping who our core audience was, how they felt, and – critically – why they weren’t engaging in help-seeking behaviours. This allowed us to customise every campaign element to genuinely resonate with those most at risk.

We intended for our language to be powerful and unapologetically resolute. There would be no room for euphemism or ambiguity; we would say things up front and loudly, confronting silence head-on. This ethos carried through every touchpoint, from bold taglines to unforgettable visuals.

Our TVC and social media videos were storyboarded to be deeply emotive, using extreme close-ups of men’s eyes to draw viewers in, creating a visceral connection. You can feel the emotion – raw, honest, and impossible to ignore. These visuals paired with clear, direct voiceovers and supers designed to inspire action, not just awareness.

Accessibility was central to our design philosophy. All digital and print assets met WCAG AA standards, ensuring inclusivity and broad reach. The black and yellow palette was chosen for boldness and impact, with the vibrant yellow swoosh acting as a visual lifeline – drawing the eye to key messages, symbolising hope and action.

Every campaign aspect was meticulously curated for clarity, accessibility, and emotional resonance. We not only met the brief but exceeded it, delivering a campaign that’s effective and, as intended, life-changing.

Design Excellence

The Silence Stops His Story campaign exemplifies design excellence on many levels.

Functionality was essential – what began as a suite of social videos and static posts soon expanded (at the client’s request) into a comprehensive ecosystem of assets, including TV commercials, a dedicated website, and striking posters distributed in hotels and service stations across Australian states. This adaptability ensured the campaign’s message reached men where they live, work, and connect, making it visible and unavoidable.

Accessibility was central to every decision. All digital and print assets were meticulously curated to meet WCAG AA standards, ensuring inclusivity for all users. The campaign’s bold black and yellow palette, anchored by a vibrant yellow swoosh, was not only visually distinctive but also acted as a visual lifeline – drawing the eye to key messages and reinforcing hope and action.

Safety was paramount, given the campaign’s sensitive subject matter. Every element – from language to imagery – was shaped by research and direct consultation with people with lived and living experience of suicide. This approach ensured messaging was powerful, responsible, and always designed to inspire positive action without risk of harm.

Quality was non-negotiable. The professional finish is evident in every touchpoint, from emotive close-up cinematography in the videos to the clarity and impact of print and digital assets. This level of execution demonstrates how expert design is the difference between a campaign that simply exists and one that genuinely engages and (ultimately) saves lives.

User experience was integral throughout. Insights from research and involvement of those with lived experience shaped every decision, resulting in a campaign that resonates deeply, feels authentic, and drives change.

By combining functionality, accessibility, aesthetics, safety, and quality, this campaign establishes a new benchmark not only for Victoria, but on a global stage, demonstrating the transformative power of professional design in mental health.

www.hisstory.com.au

Design Innovation

Silence Stops His Story tackles one of Australia’s most urgent mental health crises – male suicide – by innovating in both concept and execution. The campaign addresses a deep-rooted problem: the silence, stigma, and dominant stereotypes that prevent men from seeking help. We reimagined the narrative, creating a bold, empathic experience, speaking directly to those most at risk.

A defining innovation in the campaign is its powerful visual and verbal motif: the words “his story” morphing into “history” on screen (www.hisstory.com.au) – a striking, unforgettable moment that captures the devastating reality of silence. This dynamic transformation is more than a graphic effect; it’s a profound metaphor for how a man’s life and voice can be erased when silence prevails. The transition is both visually and emotionally arresting, making the stakes heartbreakingly clear and ensuring the message lingers long after the screen fades.

Our original approach extends well beyond aesthetics. User-centric design was embedded at every stage, with deep collaboration from a Reference Group with lived and living experience of suicide. Their insights shaped tone, language, and content, ensuring every element was relevant, safe, and resonant.

Accessibility was a priority, with all assets developed to WCAG AA standards, and messaging curated to be direct, practical, and strength-based – reflecting the real needs and circumstances of men often overlooked by conventional campaigns.

Innovation was also evident in application. What began as social content expanded into TV commercials, a dedicated website, and posters placed in everyday settings – hotels, service stations, workplaces – making the message omnipresent and unavoidable.

The bold black and yellow palette, anchored by a vibrant yellow swoosh, acts as a visual lifeline, drawing attention, symbolising hope and action.

By combining creative storytelling, user insight, and multi-channel reach, Silence Stops His Story sets a new benchmark for mental health campaigns – unique, transformative, and deeply attuned.

Design Impact

The Silence Stops His Story campaign delivers a transformative and enduring impact across social, environmental, and commercial spheres.

Socially, it addresses the urgent crisis of male suicide in Australia by driving connection, reducing stigma, and encouraging earlier help-seeking behaviour. Led by authentic voices, the campaign empowers life-saving conversations, building resilience and hope where silence once prevailed.

Environmentally, the campaign demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and the principles of the Circular Economy. We engaged local talent for videos with local shoot locations, minimising our environmental footprint, activating regional communities, and stimulating remote economies. Our digital-first approach minimised waste, whilst responsible print production ensured materials were selected for their low environmental impact, creating broad reach without compromising the planet.

From a commercial perspective, the campaign has elevated Murray PHN’s profile as a leader in mental health advocacy, showcasing the tangible value of investing in professional design. The high-quality, adaptable assets enabled the client to extend the campaign across multiple channels and diverse communities, maximising both impact and return on investment. The campaign’s adaptability has also allowed for ongoing expansion, ensuring its relevance and effectiveness well into the future.

Crucially, this project enhances Victoria’s reputation as a hub for design and creative excellence. By tackling a complex social issue with sensitivity, innovation, and professionalism, the campaign sets a new benchmark for design-led public health initiatives in Victoria, across Australia, and internationally.

It demonstrates the power of design to drive positive change, not only by raising awareness but by inspiring real action and measurable outcomes. Investing in a professional design process has been fundamental to the campaign’s success – ensuring clarity, accessibility, and emotional resonance at every touchpoint.

This project stands as a compelling example of how design can be a catalyst for lasting, positive change in society, the economy, and the environment.

Silence Stops His Story | End Silence. End Suicide

End Silence. End Suicide. An unapologetically bold campaign breaking silence to ensure no mans story becomes history.

Design Process

Design Excellence

Design Innovation

Design Impact

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Meet the Jury

Entering the Awards