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Seize the Awkward

“Seize the Awkward”

Ad Council mental health and suicide prevention campaign launched in January 2018 with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and The Jed Foundation. It encourages young adults ages 16-24 to push through awkward moments and check in with friends who may be struggling, pointing them to SeizeTheAwkward.org for conversation tips.

Years
2018–now
Country
United States
Budget
Ad Council press materials report the campaign generating "$148 million in donated media support" (figure varies by release date).
Topic
Mental healthSuicide prevention
Asks people to
Seek helpTalk to someone
Strategy
Self efficacySimple instruction
Channel
InfluencerOutdoorSocial (organic)Social (paid)TV
Audience
Young adultsYouth
Young adults ages 16-24; peers of someone who may be struggling.

Evidence

Self-reportedUnknown

Ad Council reports reach metrics only: an early-2020 release cited 35.2 million video views and over 923,000 sessions on SeizeTheAwkward.org; a later release cited 8.7 million site visits. No independent behavioral evaluation found.

Sponsor (who paid)

  • Ad Council Ad Council (pro bono), campaign producer
  • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) NGO, partner/sponsor
  • The Jed Foundation (JED) NGO, partner/sponsor

Credits (who made it)

Executions (individual ads)

Sources

  1. Ad Council: Our History sponsor
  2. Seize the Awkward Reminds Young People Everywhere That You Don't Need to Be There, to Be There (Ad Council press release) sponsor
  3. Seize the Awkward is Here to Help Amidst Covid Crisis (Ad Council press release) sponsor · 2020
  4. Ad Council teams with musicians in suicide prevention effort (Campaign) news

Research notes

Some later materials describe the partnership as AFSP, NAMI and the Ad Council; the May 2020 Ad Council release still lists AFSP and JED, so check when NAMI joined. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: Droga5 (Ad Council release, 14 May 2020: the campaign, 'a collaboration between the Ad Council, AFSP and The Jed Foundation (JED), and created pro bono by creative agency Droga5'). The 2018 start of Droga5's work is from the case start year, not stated on this page. Part of the Ad Council's $65M multi-year mental health initiative. Links (#82) from the Ad Council cause page's Visit Campaign Site button, checked 2026-10-23.

Record cases/seize-the-awkward.json, updated 2026-10-23· Link to this campaign