The more I think about this campaign, the more brilliant it seems. Initially I found the language weirdly passive. “It gets better”? Sure, a nice message – but asking teens to wait? Is that really the best approach? I wondered.
In this case, though, form obviously trumps content. The beauty of this campaign is that it’s transformative. The literal message implies a static present, but the act of reaching out, of making these videos, itself shatters that illusion.
These videos prove that people have been moved already. They allow us to see a changing landscape in bloom. The point isn’t really that things will get better; it’s that – look! – they are getting better…
And that sharing our pain makes all the difference.
Bless you, Dan Savage.
Douglas Faneuil is the founder of Living Proof Productions, a not-for-profit devoted to suicide prevention based in New York City. He also designs database solutions for companies throughout the Northeast.