Friendships and social connections can provide a lifeline for those in crisis, but recent research reveals men are much less likely than women to feel comfortable when a man they know opens up to them, and men’s social connections can wane over time. Isolation and loneliness is a growing problem, especially for men over 30. To celebrate the power of friendship, CALM launched the Best Man Project in collaboration with the great people at The Drum’s ‘Do It Day’ in November 2017, with a film featuring three sets of regular pals tasked with doing what best men do best.
Bold Content Video released the above video in collaboration with the Campaign Against Living Miserably. This video, featuring Prince William, Rio Ferdinand, Loyle Carner, and Roman Kemp, explores how men can do their part in de-stigmatising mental health.
Bold Content’s branded content manager, Allesandro Iacaponi, alongside teammates from The Drum’s Do-It Day, conceived the initial campaign design. Ben Hawley and Paul Shiels, of CALM, along with Bold Content’s in-house director, James Gough, created the premise of the video.
On Wednesday, the 10th of January, his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, joined by celebrity friends, participated in a round-table discussion. With an upcoming Royal Wedding, it was a timely opportunity to discuss the topic that men do not need to wait until a wedding to act like a best man. In other words, men don’t need to wait for key life moments to be supportive and caring to their friends.
Bold and CALM’s aim in producing this video is to point out how detrimental it can be for men to keep emotions bottled up. While a little uncomfortable, it isn’t difficult to speak with your best mate about how you feel. Most importantly, it can make a lifesaving difference. The video reinforces that there is no shame in offering a helping hand.
Director James Gough commented,
“We aimed to create an atmosphere that felt as relaxed and unobtrusive as possible, and I think the footage and the conversation with Prince William came out great. We didn’t have to direct him at all, in fact he was very comfortable talking about the issue. He had no problem discussing his more vulnerable times alongside the friends who joined the round table.”
This video was the second in the #BestManProject campaign. For the first video, Bold interviews were filmed with three best friends, and then edited into one entertaining and emotive video.
#PrinceWilliam chatting to volunteers at an event for @theCALMzone @heads_together pic.twitter.com/fE4ZWjg8ZL
— Rhiannon Mills (@SkyRhiannon) January 10, 2018
The Duke Of Cambridge: "Guys want to talk. Someone's got to be brave and take the first step to allow the conversation to come to a head" #BestManProject
More info and join ? https://t.co/3KKBGDaeqg pic.twitter.com/PgXwHEi4Xb— CALM (@theCALMzone) January 11, 2018
Links
https://ethicalmarketingnews.com/save-wedding-mates-best-man-asks-charity
