Beatbullying launches hard hitting advert dedicated to bullying victim

14 January 2010

Today Beatbullying launches an uncompromising £1.2m advertising campaign – refused permission to air on TV by regulators – in memory of bullied school girl Megan Gillan, whose life was cut short after facing continual bullying both online and in school on 19th January 2009.

Megan’s family has fully endorsed the campaign with the hope that “no other family suffers the loss we have”. The advert, refused permission to air on TV by Clearcast (formerly the BACC), depicts a teenage girl sewing her mouth closed, symbolising the way victims feel silenced by bullies. It is this imagery which Clearcast deemed too brutal an image for young audiences. However, the disturbing imagery is designed to drive awareness of the devastating effects bullying can have.

However, the ad, produced by award winning agency M&C Saatchi, can be seen online debuting on YouTube’s homepage – as part of a major charity partnership tie-in.

The advert will also be screened in cinemas in films rated 12A. Stills from the ad will be used on billboards in cities nationwide alongside a UK schools advertising programme. It encourages children to seek help with the tagline ‘You can speak out now’.

The advertising campaign aims to illustrate the way bullying affects young people’s state of mind as data gathered by Beatbullying on its peer mentoring website cybermentors.org.uk, found that 68% of discussions between under 18s visiting the site featured conversations discussing mental health issues including children revealing they were depressed, felt ‘low’, were unable to cope and asking for counselling.

A disturbing 7% of comments were from children appealing for help because they were self harming. Thankfully, 97% of bullied children that use cybermentors.org.uk find the site helpful.

Emma-Jane Cross, chief executive of Beatbullying, said: “We are proud of this advert and the way it makes you stop and understand the impact bullying can have on its victims.

“But we were disappointed that Clearcast refused to let this advert go onto TV. We know that 69% of young people have been bullied and it’s imperative that people know cybermentors.org.uk is there to give them support.

“If just one more vulnerable young person gets the help they need from CyberMentors, then all of the hard work and generous donations put into this advert will be proved worthwhile.”

The family of Megan Gillan commented: “We believe Megan would have supported and benefited from CyberMentors, so this dedication is a fitting legacy and one which, we hope, means no other families must suffer the loss we have.”

CyberMentors is a unique peer mentoring social networking site where young people offer help and advice to each other. Over 300,000 young people have already accessed the site for support since March, although it remains a pilot project awaiting Government re-funding. Vulnerable young people are urged to visit CyberMentors.org.uk, summed up as ‘kids helping kids online’.
The full advert can be seen online now at YouTube or cybermentors.org.uk

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Beatbullying
Beatbullying is the UK’s leading bullying prevention charity. Founded in 1999, Beatbullying empowers young people to lead anti-bullying campaigns in their schools and local communities, and builds the capacity of local communities to sustain the work. Beatbullying has directly and indirectly worked with 700,000+ young people over the last seven years, assisting and supporting young people that are being bullied, re-educating and changing the behaviour of young people that bully and preventing bullying in schools and communities across the UK.

About CyberMentors
Cybermentors.org.uk is a safe, social networking site providing information and support for young people being bullied or cyber bullied. Young people, aged 11-25, are trained as CyberMentors, in schools and online, so that they can offer support to their peers. Encapsulated by cutting edge technology, it is a safe website where young people can turn to other young people for help and advice. CyberMentors are also supported by trained counsellors, available online if needed. CyberMentors is a Beatbullying project.

Research/Methodology
To (a) further our understanding of users' experience of CyberMentors, and (b) increase our understanding of the issues young people are talking about/their reasons for using CyberMentors, Beatbullying has conducted an analysis into the content of mentoring/messaging interactions between users of the site. Data has been collated into sets according to agreed themes, such as self-harm, and for each theme, a subset of words (e.g. burn, cutting, self-harm) was formulated in consultation with young people and expert practitioners. Each of these words has been scraped from the total no. of messages (excluding chat room interactions) in each month, over a 10-month period from March to December 2009. Each instance of the word is counted for that month and collated in the final total of words in the theme for that month. Beatbullying will be producing a full annual report in the coming months

About TenNine
Over the last five years TenNine have attracted nearly 1,000 secondary schools and sixth form colleges to join their scheme, and more recently an increasing number of youth clubs. Members are offered a stream of appropriate messages for display in large poster panels which TenNine supply and maintain entirely free of charge. Every school and club has full veto over the posters for display, or any material for distribution, and receive payment for what is used.

The company seeks to add value not only to social causes and brands, but also to school and college life, the taught curriculum and young people’s social hours. Much of the activity that they support directly aids the work of PSHE Coordinators in schools, and youth workers in clubs. Many clients see their involvement with TenNine as an important part of their work in the community.
Independent research shows that these ideally placed posters work amazingly well with the 11-18 target audience, with unusually high levels of both awareness and response generated. A researched anti teenage pregnancy campaign for the Department of Health achieved a 67% uplift in traffic to a bespoke website, in the researched schools.

The company also carries work for commercial clients like Tesco (recruiting staff), HBOS( running a football coaching scheme), and several film distributors promoting films with a suitable certificate. “It’s important not to appear always to be preaching or saying don’t do that, some of the messages need to have a lighter tone” says Bob Strawbridge, TenNine’s Sales Director. “Over time and in partnership with our schools, colleges and clubs, and with clients, we have developed a tone of voice that seems to work, it’s a circle both of trust and mutual benefit.”

About Pearl & Dean
Pearl & Dean is a successful screen advertising contractor and the greatest name in cinema advertising in the UK. Established in 1953, Pearl & Dean has worked in partnership with cinema exhibitors for over 50 years and its well known sonic logo is held in great affection by
many generations of movie lovers in the UK. Still a cool, vibrant brand in today's consumer and business sector, Pearl & Dean is constantly evolving, extending its offering to clients in line with ongoing market requirements.

Pearl & Dean is dedicated to growing cinema advertising revenue, both on and off screens, as well as harnessing the consumer appeal of the Pearl& Dean name to develop the company into an entertainment and lifestyle brand. Pearl & Dean is passionate and committed to positively shaping the future health of the film and cinema industry. As part of fulfilling this objective Pearl & Dean is actively involved and represented on all of the industry's leading councils, committees and associations which include the Cinema Advertising Association (CAA), the Screen Advertising World Association (SAWA), All Industry Marketing (AIM) and the Cannes International Advertising Festival.