In 2023, 693 people took their own lives in Norway. That’s 70 more than the year before — a grim development that affects us all.

Every one of them is someone’s son or daughter, mother or father, brother or sister, friend, colleague, or neighbour. Globally, more than 700,000 people take their own lives every year. It is a quiet tsunami.

We know that talking about suicidal thoughts can prevent people from taking their own lives. Research shows openness is one of the most crucial keys to tackling this widespread and heartbreaking problem, to ensure no one must carry unbearable, life-threatening thoughts alone. Lives can be saved.

When we started to work with our “Light In The Dark” campaign for the Norwegian Directorate of Health, we said it out loud: The most important thing this campaign can do is save someone’s life.

Possible?

Naïve?

Let us see.

Turning attention where it’s needed

The campaign was directed at Norway’s three northernmost counties. We know the North is a uniquely distinct region:

• Taboos around suicide are strong, openness is limited, and a macho culture is deeply rooted.
• There’s a significant degree of distrust towards the state — the last thing people want is a condescending message from above.
• These traits are especially prominent in the Sámi population.

We had the fortune of working with people like project leader Ragnhild Hogseth from RVTS North, an organisation that targets suicide prevention. Her initial reflections turned out to be crucial: 

“We wish to create hope and prevent suicide through local culture and knowledge, from a grassroots perspective,” she said. “The message should be delivered by voices from the north.”

Based on this insight, the natural choice was to use storytelling and real people in the campaign. Equally important: The stories of hope and resilience had to come from people living in the north — Northern Norwegian men and professionals.

Together with Hogseth and her colleagues, we found three men from the north, different in age and life circumstances. And each with a unique story, shedding light on suicide from completely different angles:

• Magnus (37) has had suicidal thoughts since he was 6. He eventually collapsed and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital — the start of a career writing books and giving lectures on bullying, ADHD, and mental health. With humour, he inspires others to keep living, even with suicidal thoughts. He is also a father and a family man.
• Torgrim (42) had decided to end his life. He just needed someone to take care of his dog, Luno. He found no one. Then came the question that changed everything — from his boss, when he least expected it. Now, he’s endlessly grateful.
• Nils Arne (28) lost three friends to suicide in six months. He sought and got help. Now, he challenges macho culture. Together with municipal doctor Anne-Lajla Westerfjell Kalstad, he highlights unique Sámi challenges and taboos.

These guys — their experience, thoughts, and determination — carry the campaign.

They ARE the campaign.

They are the hope.

Sharing their stories

The articles and videos focus closely on these three guys and were widely distributed across Aller Media’s news and lifestyle platforms (and social media), both nationally and specifically targeted to the three northernmost counties.

For the first time in Dagbladet’s 155-year history, articles were published in Sámi — in Bokmal (standard Norwegian), Northern Sámi, Lule Sámi, and Southern Sámi. This created massive attention and enthusiasm both inside and outside the target audience.

The articles almost went supersonic, meaning they achieved an awesome amount of traffic, breaking records on pageviews and reading time; the latter averaged almost three minutes per article.

But more important was the feedback from the panel studies:

• 94% liked the articles (also a record high score for Aller Media).
• Nine out of 10 gained a better understanding of suicidal thoughts.
• 89% say the campaign clearly shows that talking about suicidal thoughts can save lives.

Oystein Tveite is a senior communications advisor at the Norwegian Directorate of Health and said suicide prevention is one of the most demanding tasks there is.

“We have tried countless approaches, but we have never succeeded as well as we have with this campaign. The media, media agency, and professional communities have had a unique and close collaboration. They have created credible communication that unites the human touch and the professional advice,” he said.

“This has produced results we didn’t think were possible.”

The most important result? In the middle of the campaign, one of the brave men featured in one of the articles received a text from an acquaintance.

He had set a date to take his own life. But after reading the article, he chose to live.

This campaign saved someone’s life.

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