The mental health campaign that brought Riky Rick’s voice back to life may be award-winning, but it did far more than scoop gold with an important message:
Johannesburg, South Africa (10 October 2023) — Johannesburg-based advertising and communication specialists TBWA\Hunt Lascaris may have won four gold awards for their groundbreaking mental health campaign ‘Stronger’ at the Loeries Awards, but the campaign that brought the voice of the late hip hop singer, Riky Rick, back to life did a lot more than just win gold.
‘Stronger’ as a campaign and song was created with a more important goal in mind: to raise awareness of mental health issues, especially for the male youth of South Africa through a voice widely respected across the country and world.
As TBWA/Hunt Lascaris chief creative officer, Carl Willoughby indicates, it was a call of encouragement for those suffering from depression to seek the help they need, especially in a world where outdated narratives like ‘men shouldn’t express their emotional or psychological struggles’ still target many.
“Our aim as an agency was always to raise awareness about mental health and suicide, especially among South African men,” shared Willoughby who added deep gratitude to the family of the late musician who tragically took his own life in February last year, for allowing the song’s release.
By recreating Riky Rick’s voice and releasing a song posthumously in his honour using artificial intelligence, they were able to reach millions of people with the campaign’s message.
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Using AI to Honour the voice of Riky Rick
One of the most unique features of the campaign is how AI was used to honour the beloved artist. With the permission of the singer’s family, the team at TBWA and Audio Militia used clean, pre-recorded voice clips to train machine-learning tools to learn Riky Rick’s vocals.
Audio Militia CEO Nick Argyros, the song’s technical producer, explained that they used Riky’s last social media posts to write the lyrics of the song.
“It was surreal because he had almost left this song in some of the posts and all we had to do was piece it all together,” he explained. “We really didn’t add anything. All of the words and lyrics used in the song were Riky’s.”
Willoughby said when Riky’s family first listened to the song, they were triggered emotionally. “It was very difficult for them,” he recalled. “As you can imagine, a project of this nature has many layers to work through. At one point, the campaign almost never happened.”
The family agreed to go ahead and “Stronger” was released to coincide with Youth Day on 16 June 2023.
The campaign reached 59 million people in its first two weeks, as well as reach of R9 million in earned PR where all profits from the song are being donated to organisations fighting mental illness, including the free mobile mental wellness app, Panda.
“Mental health is something that touches our industry,” commented Willoughby, “so it made sense for us to do something about it.” He added that his wish is that the song’s message continues to touch listeners and inspire hope. “If we can save one life through this campaign, it would have been worth it.”
The Loeries
TBWA\Hunt Lascaris won four gold Loeries Awards in total for ‘Stronger’: in the digital category for the use of artificial intelligence (AI), in the digital crafts category for the use of technology, for branded content in radio and audio and for the use of technology in radio and audio. Additionally, ‘Stronger’, was also the first AI song to be released in Africa, in collaboration with the Riky Rick Foundation which aims to push activism through art while creating awareness for and around mental health.
The campaign also won a silver Loerie (film, music video), a bronze (integrated campaign) and a craft certificate (film, sound design).
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