Bell “Let’s Talk” Case Study

Narrator: “In Canada, two in three people suffer from mental illness in silence, fearing judgment or rejection. To put an end to the stigma and invite people to speak openly about mental health, Bell, Canada’s largest telco, created Bell Let’s Talk in 2011. The initiative includes a foundation and an event that aims to sensitize the population while raising funds for mental health. For its fifth year, a key goal was to offer people concrete tools to help change perceptions.”

Ad Excerpt: “There goes that crazy girl. She’s so weird. There goes that crazy girl. She’s so weird. There goes that crazy girl. She’s not crazy, she’s sick. We should go say hi. [Language matters. 1 of the 5 ways you can end the stigma around mental illness. Bell: Let’s Talk. bell.ca/letsalk]

Narrator: “And then get people to speak out. Online, spokespeople generously shared their own stories, which encouraged others to do the same.”

Howie Mandel: “We all talk about our dental health. You can say in the middle of the day, I’ve gotta leave at 3:00, I gotta go see my dentist. But you look at the looks in the office when you say, you know what, I gotta go to a psychiatrist. You’ll get looks. And that’s what’s wrong. And that’s why we’ve gotta talk about it. There’s no stigma. I’m crazy. I’m mental. I’m talking about it.”

Narrator: “During Bell Let’s Talk Day, Bell donated five cents for every communication on its network. A multidisciplinary team followed social media, creating live responses to keep the conversation going. And selecting the best tweets, which were instantly shown on digital displays across the country. The response was massive. With a scale of conversation quickly surpassing expectations, making mental health the number one topic on Twitter and social media. Above all, this fifth edition of Bell Let’s Talk day raised over six million dollars for grassroots mental health initiatives.”