An outdoor media campaign to raise awareness of eating disorders – a mental illness that kills more people than the national road toll – has been launched this week by Butterfly Foundation.
The campaign, brought to life by leading digital outdoor media provider QMS, includes confronting statistics about eating disorders, a mental illness that is significantly misunderstood yet has one of the highest mortality rates in Australia.
Butterfly’s QMS digital billboards form part of their ongoing 20th birthday campaign ‘The Next 20,’ launched earlier this month to acknowledge the organisation’s legacy, raise critical funds, and outline its ambitions for the next 20 years of eating disorder prevention and treatment.
Kevin Barrow, CEO, Butterfly Foundation said that with more than a million Australians living with an eating disorder and with many more suffering body image issues, this outdoor campaign is integral to driving awareness and donations.
“Anecdotally speaking, the way we talk about eating disorders is about 10 years behind how we now speak about anxiety and depression. Eating disorders are still misunderstood and grossly under-estimated, with stigma and stereotypes acting as a major barrier to help-seeking.
“We hope that our billboards reach thousands of Australians over the next few weeks and make them pay attention to eating disorders as a serious complex mental illness, rather than a lifestyle choice.
“There is still so much more work that needs to be done in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders but we cannot do it without the support of the broader community.”
With Butterfly reporting a 275 per cent increase in contacts to its national Helpline over the last 5 years and an emergence of more complex cases as a result of the pandemic, the organisation’s campaign is as timely as ever.
Tennille Burt, CMO, QMS said “QMS are extremely proud to make this important campaign a possibility. Digital Out of Home provides the perfect media platform for Butterfly to help generate awareness of eating disorders quickly, and support those who are impacted by them.
“There is still much more community education needed on this mental illness, and we are confident our network of premium digital billboards will serve as a powerful tool in communicating Butterfly’s message to mass audiences across the country.”
Clare Fargher (in main photo), marketing engagement manager, Butterfly Foundation said “Butterfly are incredibly thankful for the generosity of QMS, who have donated much of the media space for the campaign. The exposure Butterfly and eating disorders more broadly will gain from this campaign is invaluable.”
Butterfly’s outdoor media campaign will run across select QMS digital sites until 6th June 2022 in all major cities across VIC, NSW, QLD, SA and WA.
If you, or anyone you know is experiencing an eating disorder or body image concerns, you can call Butterfly’s National Helpline on 1800 33 4673 (1800 ED HOPE), e-mail [email protected] or chat online via butterfly.org.au
