2026 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Self-harm among young people in Canada is rising.

Since 2017, emergency department visits for self-harm among young people have increased significantly. In the span of 6 years, the rate of self-harm leading to emergency visits increased by 975%.

Over 1.3 million online searches related to self-harm were made in Canada last year. At the same time, self-harm content is widespread across the internet, existing in unmoderated spaces where it can be romanticized and enabled.

Yet outreach to Kids Help Phone (KHP) – an e-mental health service for youth – has remained flat, indicating that many young people struggle alone despite growing need.

Young people often feel shame, fear, or confusion about self-harm. These feelings can be difficult to articulate, making it hard to ask for help – even in safe spaces.

This created a clear barrier: the hardest part of getting help can be finding the words to begin.
“Feelings To Text” was designed to solve this.

To reach young people, they had to go into their worlds. They showed up through a targeted media strategy that reverse engineered traditional brand safety algorithms – intercepting high-risk self-harm content and redirecting users to “Feelings To Text” at their moment of need.

“Feelings To Text” is a digital, mobile-first platform that turns feelings about self-harm into text messages to get help. Here, young people watch original content based on real people’s self-harm experiences. As the content plays, their interactive subtitles allow them to select the feelings and experiences they identify with.

These selections dynamically generate a personalized text message that can be edited and sent directly to KHP through their phone’s built-in messaging app – connecting them directly to a crisis responder at KHP.

It’s hard to ask for help with something that feels impossible to articulate.

The experience is mobile-first, aligning with how youth communicate. Users are brought onto the platform through a targeted media strategy that reverse engineers traditional brand safety algorithms – placed alongside and intercepting troubling self-harm content to redirect young people to support at their moment of need.

Once on the platform, users select from a series of original content featuring real young people who have experienced self-harm and recovery. As the content plays, interactive subtitles allow them to select the feelings they identify with.

The interface is built around behaviours already woven into young people’s lives – allowing them to move seamlessly from watching, to tapping what resonates, to building a message.

Each selection is captured and used to dynamically generate a personalized text message. This message can be edited before sending, giving users autonomy and control over how they express themselves.

With one tap, the message connects them directly to a trained Kids Help Phone crisis responder.

Every part of the experience was designed to reduce friction – no login, no delay – ensuring users could move quickly from feeling to action. Desktop users were guided to mobile via QR code, maintaining a seamless experience.

This revealed a specific behavioural niche: many young people were engaging with self-harm content online but not converting that engagement to seeking help. In many cases, this content exists in unmoderated environments where self-harm can be romanticized and enabling.

Feelings tied to self-harm are complex, personal, and often feel overwhelming. Many young people struggle to understand – let alone describe – what they are feeling.

This led to the agency’s insight: it’s hard to ask for help with something that feels impossible to articulate.

Planning identified that this niche audience was not unreachable but underserved by existing solutions that rely on self-initiation.

They knew they had to integrate the idea with digital environments where self-harm content is already being consumed. Through strategic placements, the agency ensured “Feelings To Text” was introduced only to young people actively struggling or seeking information online to guide them directly to support.

To make the “Feelings To Text” experience feel instinctive to young people, they realized they had to design around behaviours they already use – watching videos with subtitles, reading lyrics in music streaming apps, tapping into interact, and texting – recognizing that any friction or unfamiliar interface would lead to drop-off.

The user interface mirrors familiar digital interfaces, allowing users to move through content, select what resonates, and progressively build meaning. By doing this, the platform transforms a behaviour that typically isolates (scrolling through self-harm content) into one that connects – redirecting attention toward support.

This shift reframed the role of KHP. From a service youth seek out, to one that meets them where they are and helps them take the first step.

One in four visitors took action to get help, initiating a direct connection with KHP. The campaign also intercepted more than 194,000 self-harm videos, achieved an 88.7% engagement rate on the platform – 25% above benchmark – and delivered a 2.5 times higher CTR than benchmark on YouTube Shorts. On YouTube, the campaign also saw a 25% higher video completion rate compared with benchmark.

By turning feelings into ready-to-send messages, “Feelings To Text” removed one of the biggest barriers to getting help: finding the words. For those who needed it, messages could be edited, giving young people both guidance and control.

“Feelings To Text” is a first-of-its-kind tool that uses interactive subtitles to help young people express themselves – creating a scalable platform that can support more content over time, and changing how young people can communicate with KHP to ask for help, for self-harm and beyond.

Credits

Client: Kids Help Phone (KHP)
McCann Canada
Jordan Doucette, Chief Creative OAJ Jones, Chief Strategy OAthina Afton Lalljee, Creative Director
Pedro Izzo, Creative Director, Design
Ethan MacDonald, Senior Copywriter
Ishan Venkat, Senior Copywriter
Tina Peng, Art Director
Emily MacLaurin-King, VP Group Account Director
Farida Shagara, Account Supervisor
Josh Hansen, SVP Strategy
Sabrina Lau, Senior Strategist
Andrew Brown, VP, Director of Digital Solutions
Erin Zatylny, Sr. Project Manager
Dan Dragicevic, Experience Designer
Michael Harley, Tech Development Director
Jason Stamp, Senior Quality Assurance Analyst
Caitlyn Patricio, Digital Specialist
Jose Orellana, Senior Analyst
Arnaud Icard, Group Director, Product Developer
Rooster
Lenka Gmitrova, Editor
Colin Murdock, Editor
Melissa Kahn, Executive Producer
Nicole Stamford, Producer
School Editing
Steve Villeseche, Post Producer
Lauren Horn, Editor
Claire Shafto, Editor
Grayson Music
Kelly McCluskey, Executive Producer/Partner
Lowell Sostomi, Music Director/Composer
Eric Hulme, Engineer
Aiden Dawn, Voice Talent
Freelance
Marc De Acetis, Videographer
Angela Cabarios, Camera Assistant
Omnicom Productions
Sarah Michener, VP, Broadcast Production
Jana Tuck, Senior Producer
Eastern Yoo, Producer
Brianna Visconti, Jr Producer
Jennifer Cachola, Production Lead
Roman Orel, Senior Designer
Chrystian Danucalov, Motion Graphics Editor
Kaia Kim, Executive Post Producer
DOP: Alex Tong
AC: Praven Yoganathan
Epitaph Group
Scott Stewart: EVP, Managing Director
Jaclyn Berzins: Sr. Director, Integrated Planning
Nicole Merza: Senior Specialist, Integrated Planning
Myah Jackson: Senior Specialist, Integrated Planning
Alter Ego
Executive Producer of Colour: Jane Garrah
Colourist: Jonah Venneri
Colourist: Andrew Ross
Recess Post
Executive Producer: Anu Chhetry
Tru Tattoo - CAST
Owner & Tattoo Artist: Thaila (Vegas)
Tattoo Artist: Kal
Tattoo Artist: Jasmine