Kids Help Phone and McCann Canada Reimagine Help in Music Video-Style Short Film

With the arrival of back-to-school season, Kids Help Phone (KHP) has launched a new chapter of its award-winning ‘Feel Out Loud’ platform. Anchoring a national advertising campaign titled ‘Defining Help’, which seeks to expand and reframe what ‘help’ really means to youth today, the almost three-minute-long hero film, ‘Help’, is designed to highlight the continuing mental health crisis Canadian youth face.

Created by McCann Canada and directed by SAUVAGE.TV’s Ernest Desumbila, the work is a cinematic metaphor for the lived experiences of this demographic. Portraying a wide emotional spectrum, from anxiety and loneliness to joy and identity, the spot – set to a stripped-back cover of ‘Help!’ by Liverpool-born artist Michael Nelson – challenges the assumption that help is only for moments of crisis, furthering the organisation’s call-to-action on behalf of the 8.2 million young Canadians who need resources like KHP.

“Help means everything, because every feeling deserves a place to go,” says Rebecca Stutley, KHP’s group head and executive vice president, brand, storytelling and communications. “For over 36 years, we’ve been a trusted space where youth across Canada can ‘Feel Out Loud’ and reach us 24/7 for free, confidential and multilingual mental health support by phone, text, or online chat. Our new film brings KHP’s promise to life, amplifying youth voices and visualising help in all sizes, reminding us that no issue is too big, and no feeling is too small.”

Behind the visuals, the work is heavily insight driven. Keenly aware of the fact that since 2020, KHP has connected with young people more than 22 million times, as well as the rise in conversations about systemic inequities, today’s geopolitical and financial crises, and sexual abuse, McCann utilised these relevant touchpoints, empathetically emphasising the message that every young person in Canada deserves a space to speak openly and receive support.

“Our team was inspired by all the rich conversation data from KHP, which helped shape most of the scenes, along with input from KHP's clinical team and advisory councils for various equity-deserving groups,” explains McCann Canada creative director Athina Lalljee. “We originally had some ideas around personifying young people’s feelings and even tapping a famous brand ambassador to help spread the word, but ultimately we found the solution in the problem – a big, sometimes scary word, ‘Help’. Using KHP’s data based on real connections with youth felt like the most authentic and moving way to expand on what that word really means for young people today.”

Statistics from last year also played a pivotal role in the campaign’s rollout – notably, the fact that from July through October 2024, KHP saw an 18% increase in texting conversations compared to the four months prior, with anxiety and stress-related conversations rising by over 20%. Figures which helped the agency position the film as more than artistic expression, but a timely intervention, this informed the decision to launch with a three-day video-first media blitz across platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and TikTok. A roadblock strategy intended to maximise impact from day one, both KHP and McCann hope this will remind young Canadians that right now, as always, KHP is there for every issue, feeling, and identity.

Additionally, through the use of DOOH placements near schools and malls, immersive ‘Roblox’ experiences, highly-targeted social content across Snapchat and TikTok, and even AI tools, the teams are ‘reversing the algorithm’ to place KHP’s message in contextually-sensitive environments where other brands don’t typically show up, ensuring youth see the campaign where they live, learn, and play.

“Since we launched the ‘Feel Out Loud’ brand platform about three years ago, everything we've done with KHP has been in service of encouraging more young people to express their feelings, and showing adults how their support makes that possible,” Athina adds. “This campaign is a big part of that journey, and it works twice as hard, showing youth that KHP is here for all their feelings, and reminding adults how impactful their support can be, and that help means everything.”

Despite the strategic legwork, however, equally meticulous was the craft process. In order to transform KHP into the likes of ‘Kids “I’m Ashamed of Who I Am” Phone’, ‘Kids “Can You Help Me Feel Better?” Phone’, ‘Kids “I Got Kicked Out” Phone’, and ‘Kids “People at School Don’t Understand” Phone’, McCann worked closely with Ernest to ensure the film felt like a hybrid – equal parts music video, cinematic short, and emotional documentary – to better resonate with a generation raised on TikTok, Reels and rapid-fire visual storytelling.

“Ernest! He elevated the script with visual metaphors and ideas that moved us from the moment we saw his treatment – including the scene of the father turning into stardust – which was originally scripted as a funeral,” Athina says. “We were blown away by the way he brought his signature world-bending vision to this film, while still retaining all the emotion we were aiming for.”

Equally significant would be McCann’s partnership with Grayson Music on the soundtrack. According to Athina, despite ‘Help!’ being an obvious choice for a spot about help, going after it felt like a long shot for the agency, and was made possible by the studio’s technique and approach.

“The cover process was quite the journey, as we went into it with a totally different idea in mind, and had to experiment a bunch before we arrived at a version we all loved,” she recalls. “However, the team at Grayson was relentless, passionate and so generous; they had multiple composers trying different approaches, and when we finally heard ‘the one’, there was no going back. I love where we ended up!”

Sharing Athina’s enthusiasm is Rebecca. Emphasising the challenges that come with expanding on the largest fundraising campaign for youth mental health in Canadian history, whilst simultaneously encouraging adults to donate, and those who need it to use it, the EVP reflects that living up to such a “deceptively simple” brief is a real accomplishment.

Noting that the endeavour was about illustrating KHP’s understanding of young people and what ‘Feel Out Loud’ means, while also deepening engagement and inspiring giving, all of this, she adds, helps the organisation evolve for the future.

“What I’m most proud of in this campaign is how deeply it’s grounded in the real voices and experiences of young people without compromising their trust in us,” concludes Rebecca. “Every piece of creative is informed by more than 50 million real-time, real-language data points that have been aggregated and anonymised from conversations with youth, making this not just a reimagining of an iconic song, but a reflection of what help truly means today. It’s powerful to see their stories brought to life in such an authentic way, showing that help can look different for everyone, and that KHP is here for all of it.”