STV and ITV’s landmark mental health initiative, Britain Get Talking, returns today to encourage the nation to spend more quality time with their mates.
The campaign is fronted by well-loved faces including Britain Get Talking veterans Ant & Dec, The Voice’s Tom Fletcher & Danny Jones, What’s On Scotland’s Laura Boyd and This Morning’s Alison Hammond & Dermot O’Leary. Developed by Uncommon Creative Studio and supported by Mind, YoungMinds and SAMH, it features across TV, editorial and social.
Latest research by YouGov shows that one in three of us are seeing our close mates less than we have in years. As many of us move further away, go through life changes and grapple with the cost-of-living crisis, it’s become harder than ever to stay close to our friends. And yet spending time with our friends is one of the best actions we can take to support our mental wellbeing.
With a call to action to “take your mate on a date,” the campaign playfully encourages us all to celebrate our friendships as deeply as we do romance.
The TV ad opens with Love Island host Maya Jama, or for Scottish audiences STV’s entertainment reporter Laura Boyd, posing the question “Who doesn’t love, love?”
This is followed by a fitting response from best pals Ant & Dec that there’s something else just as important – friendship. The duo then pass the baton on to a host of STV and ITV stars to promote the benefits of a quality catch up with friends.
Britain Get Talking originally launched in October 2019 and forms part of STV and ITV’s wider social purpose to improve the nation’s mental wellbeing. Last year, over 7m people across the UK connected with others as a result of the initiative, which remains the UK’s most well-known mental health campaign.
