The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) has teamed up with digital agency 360i Europe to launch #ChangeThePicture, a campaign aimed at challenging restrictive male stereotypes and launched to mark International Men’s Day on 19 November 2017.
CALM is dedicated to preventing male suicide, the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK. Every day in the UK, 12 men on average take their own lives. To reflect this shocking fact, #ChangeThePicture features 12 real men’s stories.
The campaign shows stereotypically masculine photos posted on social media, then reveals the unexpected and invisible reality behind each image: vulnerability, mental health problems and suicidal feelings.
One of the men featured in #ChangeThePicture is former professional footballer and boxer Leon McKenzie. Now an ambassador for CALM, McKenzie’s image shows him celebrating a milestone career goal on the pitch surrounded by adoring fans. His reality behind the image was a different story.
#ChangeThePicture invites everyone to take a closer look at the man behind the picture and, by doing so, challenge the damaging and unattainable masculine stereotypes we see across social media and beyond.
