Kick Off The Conversation

Client: The Samaritans

Every 90 minutes, the length of a football match, someone in the UK dies by suicide. When Samaritans approached Be The Fox to create a hero film with Brighton & Hove Albion FC, the brief was clear: reach men most at risk, aged 25–55, through a language they already speak fluently. Football.

Our response was Kick Off The Conversation, a film that turns football’s loudest ritual into a rallying cry for vulnerability. If men can shout at the ref, can they shout what’s hardest to say? Will they be heard, and if they are, will they be listened to? Filmed on a real match day at the Amex Stadium and Brighton Station, with real fans and two actors, it captured the raw emotion of the terraces. With a modest £15,000 budget and no paid media, the film achieved extraordinary reach of over 80 million across platforms and 5 million organic views, including 2 million in the first 48 hours. It generated thousands of heartfelt comments, shares and media features from BBC News, Ad Age, Creative Moment, LBB Online, and Shots, as well as shoutouts from James Corden, Richard Osman, Vernon Kay, Dame Kelly Holmes and Roman Kemp. Beyond metrics, it delivered life-changing impact. Men opened up. Friends checked in. Football fans became Samaritans volunteers. 40 fully trained in two months. For Samaritans, this wasn’t just a campaign. It was a movement. One that brought empathy to the terraces and helped thousands of men feel seen, supported, and heard.