Sesame Workshop and the Ad Council Launch New PSA to Support Mental Health

New PSA features Elmo and friends showing how humming can help support people’s emotional well-being as part of a series of activities for the ‘Love, Your Mind’ campaign.

(New York, NY – March 21, 2024) Sesame Workshop, the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street, launched a new public service announcement (PSA) video with the Ad Council for their “Love, Your Mind” campaign developed with Huntsman Mental Health Institute. The video features Elmo and his friends highlighting the benefits of humming for people’s overall emotional well-being.

As part of a multi-year commitment to the emotional well-being of children and families, Sesame Workshop is adding to its robust resource hub on Sesame.org for parents, caregivers, and providers. The Workshop created two new, family-friendly videos in English and Spanish, as well as print and outdoor PSAs, for the national “Love, Your Mind” campaign. In this first video, Elmo shares that emotions like frustration and anger are okay and how humming a song can help manage big feelings. The second video PSA will be released in May 2024, along with a robust offering of additional Sesame Workshop resources for families in support of Mental Health Awareness Month.

Building on decades of experience developing content for families and providers, and following the viral response to Elmo checking in on X to see how people were doing, Sesame Workshop continues to expand its organization-wide focus on supporting young children’s emotional well-being, including outreach through various platforms.

“The growing mental health crisis is one of the most pressing issues for parents today and children’s needs can so often be overlooked,” said Samantha Maltin, EVP, Chief Marketing & Brand Officer, Sesame Workshop. “We know that caring for a child means supporting their whole circle of care, whether that’s parents, teachers or other caregivers. We’re grateful for our partnership with the Ad Council and ‘Love, Your Mind’ campaign through which we can reach even more children and caregivers with these emotional well-being resources.”

Sesame Workshop’s approach to emotional well-being offers strategies that support all families, including helping children learn the essential skills they need to understand and manage their big feelings, as Elmo demonstrates using humming in the new PSA video. Fostering these kinds of nurturing relationships is a key component to the emotional well-being of children. Resources to help parents and caregivers support children’s emotional well-being from managing big feelings to coping with more acute mental health challenges can be found at sesame.org/mentalhealth.

The “Love, Your Mind” campaign shares this goal with its mission to create a more open, accepting, and proactive society when it comes to mental health. Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council created the campaign in response to the growing mental health crisis in the United States, to encourage people to care for their relationship with their minds, which can help them to flourish in all areas of their lives.

“We all have a role to play when it comes to supporting and destigmatizing mental health, and parents and caregivers are an important part of that equation,” said Heidi Arthur, Chief Campaign Development Officer, the Ad Council. “On behalf of Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council, we’re thrilled to partner with Sesame Workshop to open up more dialogue about mental health and offer resources to support the whole family.”

About Sesame Workshop   
Sesame Workshop is the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street and so much more. For over 50 years, we have worked at the intersection of education, media, and research, creating joyful experiences that enrich minds and expand hearts, all in service of empowering each generation to build a better world. Our beloved characters, iconic shows, outreach in communities, and more bring playful early learning to families in more than 150 countries and advance our mission to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org and follow Sesame Workshop on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok. 

About the Ad Council
The Ad Council convenes creative storytellers to educate, unite and uplift audiences by opening hearts, inspiring action and accelerating change around the most pressing issues in America. Since the non-profit’s founding, the organization and its partners in advertising, media, marketing and tech have been behind some of the country’s most iconic social impact campaigns – Smokey Bear, A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste, Love Has No Labels, Tear the Paper Ceiling and many more. With a current focus on mental health, gun safety, the opioid epidemic, skill-based hiring and other critical issues, the Ad Council’s national campaigns encompass advertising and media content, ground game and community efforts, trusted messenger and influencer engagement, and employer programs, among other innovative strategies to move the needle on the most important issues of the day.

In November 2022, the Ad Council announced a Mental Health Initiative, uniting brands, marketers, media companies and nonprofits to address the mental health crisis throughout the U.S. at scale. With a founding investment from Huntsman Mental Health Institute, the multi-year initiative aims to change social norms and create a society that is more open, accepting and proactive when it comes to mental health.

To learn more or get involved, visit AdCouncil.org, join the Ad Council’s communities on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X, and view campaign creative on YouTube.