bringchange2mind

the bringchange2mind brand and campaign were created from the ground up for actress glenn close. it would become the first national advertising effort in history designed to combat the stigma associated with mental illness.

we kicked off the campaign with a national psa that was shot in the iconic grand central terminal (also a watsons client). directed pro bono by ron howard with music donated by john mayer, the spot featured 80 volunteers, many of whom were living with mental illness, and five people who outed themselves by wearing their illness on their t-shirt. walking side-by-side with a loved one, the concept was designed to visually illustrate what one in six people looks like. the tagline doubled as a call to action: change a mind and you can change a life.

the spot was picked up time-warner cable, comcast cable, charter cable, lifetime network, and fox networks. additionally,  screen vision showed the psa on 260 movie screens, ncm (national cinamedia) with in-lobby plasma screens in 950 of their cineplexes, and hulu featured both the psa and the “making of” video. 

in its first months, bringchange2mind.org had 3 million+ hits, over 285,000 visits, and 700,000+ page views from more than 150 countries. there were over one thousand emails for non-emergency assistance – all of which were answered within 48 hours. 

the brand’s facebook presence was brimming with over 40,000 active fans who have contributed thousands of posts. the psa itself has received 173,000+ views on youtube.

demand for shirts worn in the psa resulted in the creation of an e-commerce section of the site, which aids in funding the effort moving forward.