DEC BBDO's #StopBlueMonday Campaign Urges Us to Stop Associating Blue with Sadness

Promotur Turismo de Canarias and DEC BBDO are launching a new chapter in their #StopBlueMonday action this Monday (15 January) to combat the myth that the third Monday in January is the saddest day of the year.

This is one of the Canary Islands Tourism campaigns that has won the most awards.

Early in the morning, a video on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram (in 10 languages) will question why blue means “down”. And it will ask the question: “What’s blue got to do with it?” It’s the colour of the sea, the clear sky and revitalising good weather. And it will make the claim that blue days are anything but sad.

The video will also reach more than a million tourists via e-mail.

This Monday is considered the most depressing date based on a formula developed by researcher Cliff Arnall from Cardiff University, who reached the conclusion in 2005 that bad weather, Christmas debts and not keeping up with New Year’s resolutions are the factors that determine the worst day of the year.

During the first episode of the action, in 2016, Cliff Arnall refuted his formula from the Canary Islands, declaring that—when the weather is good—there is no such thing as Blue Monday. In 2017, the action was centred around the media, asking them to  spread the word that there is no such thing as the saddest day of the year, and a cake was sent to journalists that published articles about Blue Monday, inviting them to eat their words. 

The series of #StopBlueMonday actions, designed by DEC BBDO, has received numerous awards: a finalist at the Latin American Advertising Festival, the gold prize at the Spanish Advertising Association’s Effectiveness Awards, the gold prize for the Best Advertisement at the Art&Tur International Tourist Film Festival and the Best Advertisement in all categories at the same festival.