Seeking mental health support shouldn’t feel like navigating a maze. Yet for too many people, that’s the experience they face— long waitlists, endless voicemails, confusing referrals, or being told you don’t meet the eligibility criteria. Instead of finding care, people are met with dead ends.
This difficult reality is the foundation for The Maze, a new campaign from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) that calls attention to barriers in care and mobilizes donor support. The campaign builds on the success of CAMH’s record-breaking $600 million fundraising platform No One Left Behind.
With creative and media led by Mekanism Canada, the hero film depicts a young person trapped in a maze, a visceral metaphor for the disorienting experience of seeking mental health care in Canada. The message is clear: when you’re looking for mental health support, asking for help shouldn’t feel like navigating a maze. The campaign calls on donors to help CAMH forge clearer, more accessible pathways to care.
“Accessing mental health support shouldn’t feel like hitting dead ends, yet that’s the reality for too many,” said Sarah Chamberlin, Chief Marketing Officer at CAMH Foundation. “This campaign acknowledges that struggle but also shows there’s a way forward and that donors play a critical role in opening the path to change.”
In today’s climate of donor fatigue and news avoidance, nonprofits face the same challenge as brands: breaking through the noise when audiences are tuning out. Increasingly, leading organizations are adopting cutting-edge creative strategies with integrated media buys, creator partnerships, and urgency-driven messaging that is honest and direct to stand apart and convey why support is needed now, not later.
“We wanted the audience to be on this journey alongside the character. Every creative decision, from lighting to sound design, was made to evoke the isolation and confusion that comes with not knowing where to turn,” said Ashley Babcock, Associate Creative Director at Mekanism. “We let the experience of the maze speak for itself, turning a systemic problem into a deeply personal, empathetic story people could see themselves in.”
Launched on September 8, ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day, the campaign is running in cinema, on TV, digital video/CTV, social, OOH, display, and digital audio platforms, including podcast host reads. All channels drive audiences to CAMH’s Mental Health Toolkit, a practical guide designed to reduce barriers and help people take the next step toward care. Further media bursts will be launched around key mental health moments and donation periods.
Mekanism Canada (formerly Camp Jefferson) has been CAMH Foundation’s agency of record for creative and media since 2019.
Learn more at https://www.camh.ca/en/no-one-left-behind
