Every day in Australia an average of seven men take their own life, making male suicide Australia’s #1 public health problem for men.

At the heart of the problem is a narrative, handed down by generation after generation, that says that real men DON’T ask for help when they’re struggling, that they DON’T talk about their feelings, that Boys DON’T Cry.

To engage men on the uncomfortable subject of their feelings, we turned to a medium through which - whether it’s rock n roll or rowdy football songs - men are more comfortable expressing emotion: music.

We transformed the Cure’s iconic “Boys Don’t Cry” into “Boys Do Cry” - an anthem to help stop male suicide. The foundation for Boys Do Cry was the Cure’s iconic 1979 single Boys Don’t Cry.

We rewrote the lyrics to express the themes of our campaign - encouraging men to share their feelings and reach out for help when suffering with mental health issues.

Musically, we retained the Cure’s original melody, but slowed the tempo and worked with an arrangement with a single piano. We recorded the song with a diverse group of “regular” Australian men aged 12-75, and Indigenous Australian artist Dallas Woods contributed a rap inspired by his experiences with suicide in his community.

We created a film and a 3:20 minute audio ad that spearheaded our national men’s mental health campaign.