Gidget Foundation Australia, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the emotional wellbeing of expectant and new parents, has launched a new campaign in partnership with Ogilvy Network ANZ, WPP, and Hogarth.

The campaign was spearheaded by WPP’s Chief Strategy Officer Katie Rigg-Smith, and Ogilvy ECDs Kristal Knight (NZ) and Hilary Badger (Melbourne).

"What the Gidget Foundation does is so important it cannot be overstated. It was such a privilege to be part of this journey with them and the team from Ogilvy. It is beautiful work and I genuinely hope we can reach as many people as possible with it," said Rigg-Smith.

Serving as a reminder to the community that newborn parents need as much care as their babies, the creative uses emotive imagery and audio to cut through an idealised image of parenting in the early years.

The integrated campaign features a 60-second film, which will rollout alongside other executions across TV, BVOD, social, radio, digital OOH, large format OOH, and YouTube.

"This campaign aims to evoke those deep protective feelings we all have for the vulnerability of newborn babies, and then with a rug-pull moment reveal that their parents are newborn too," said Knight.

Perinatal depression and anxiety affect one in five mothers and one in ten fathers, impacting around 100,000 newborn parents in Australia each year. Despite these confronting statistics, admitting to struggling is still stigmatised, as the newborn years are often perceived as a time of bliss.

"Perinatal mental health issues impact around 100,000 newborn parents in Australia each year. Maternal suicide is also a leading cause of death amongst expectant and new mothers. But despite these confronting statistics, admitting that you’re struggling is still stigmatised because the newborn years are supposed to be a bubble of bliss. We want everyone to understand that perinatal mental health issues are a common and often expected part of parenting, and that help is available. We’re proud to launch this campaign as a vital step towards more people asking for that help," said CEO of Gidget Foundation, Arabella Gibson.

The campaign was launched on June 1 to coincide with the Global Day of Parents.