Responses by Ashley Babcock, associate creative director; Ian Barr, senior vice president, head of strategy; Robyn Crummey, associate creative director; Heather Mirynech, group account director; and Julie Nikolic, executive creative director, Mekanism.
Background: “The purpose of The Maze is to address the systemic barriers people face when seeking mental health care and to show how donor support can help create more accessible pathways to treatment,” says Ian Barr. “The campaign builds on the No One Left Behind platform by the Centre for Mental Health and Addiction Foundation (CAMH Foundation) and is designed to sustain donor engagement in a climate of fatigue and distraction. By transforming a systemic problem into a deeply personal narrative, the work seeks to connect with the public emotionally while mobilizing donors to take an active role in driving change.”
Design thinking: “Our solution was to turn the overwhelming experience of navigating mental health care into something tangible, says Robyn Crummey. “By using the maze as a metaphor, we translated a systemic problem into a personal story that builds empathy and urgency. It’s about meeting people where they are, showing them we understand their frustration, and then guiding them toward a solution we can all be a part of.”
Challenges: “We had to strike a balance between accurately reflecting the pain points within mental health care and giving people hope, all without laying blame on care providers,” says Ashley Babcock. “We worked closely with the CAMH Foundation team to ensure the voices in the film didn’t portray healthcare workers in a negative light, but instead as people who are inhibited by the realities of the system they work within.”
Favorite details: “We’re proud of the emotional authenticity we were able to capture,” says Babcock. “Navigating the mental health care system can be a deeply frustrating and isolating experience, and we felt it was crucial to stay true to that reality. Throughout the production, so many shared that they were proud to be a part of the project because they had been through it themselves and felt seen.”
Visual influences: “We wanted to portray a world that felt both daunting and deeply human,” says Julie Nikolic. “We looked at architectural photography of repetitive structures and endless hallways and made the call to use real sets versus more abstract, minimalist environments. Our goal was to create a maze that felt less like a video game and more like a real, oppressive and confusing space grounded in the reality of this young man’s experience.”
Specific project demands: “From the very beginning of the project, it was essential to the CAMH Foundation team that we create something that would hook viewers immediately,” says Heather Mirynech. “This gave us the freedom to be creative and take risks, knowing we had their full support to address system issues head-on. Because we were all aligned on project’s purpose, we were able to move forward with confidence and speed from ideation to execution.”
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