Sesame Street Characters Support Moms' Mental Health

With Elmo and Baby Cookie Monster

Baby Cookie Monster and Elmo are real handfuls for their moms? Who’d a thunk it?

Maternal patience wears thin in the Ad Council’s latest mental health PSAs breaking this week. They’re part of the org’s long-standing collaboration with Sesame Workshop.

Of course, all mothers feel overwhelmed sometimes and could use help and understanding. Who better than Jim Henson’s beloved characters to put that reality in perspective?

Past efforts have focused on kids’ mental health. This round stresses whole-family wellness through its mom-centric appeal.

Specifically, the work “aims to help address the need for messages that speak directly to the experience of early motherhood,” Heidi Arthur, chief campaign and program officer at the Ad Council, tells Muse. “We’re helping encourage moms to care for their minds—and in turn their little ones—as they adjust to new physical, emotional and lifestyle challenges.”

The Sesame tie-in brings “multigenerational credibility,” allowing the team to make “a complex topic more relatable, approachable and actionable,” she says.

Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation fund the initiative. Matt Vogel directed this latest iteration.