- CLIENT / PUBLISHER
- NOCD / Healthline
- THE BRIEF
- Challenge misconceptions about OCD and help people find information and treatment.
- MY ROLE
- Creative direction, scriptwriting and narrative development across the campaign; director of For All I Know.
The world has
OCD wrong.
On screen and in everyday conversation, OCD gets reduced to clean kitchens and quirky habits. That picture leaves people struggling to recognize their own symptoms. The IOCDF cites an estimated 14–17 years from symptoms beginning to effective treatment.
Source: International OCD FoundationTHE STRATEGY
Change the conversation
where it started.
Misconceptions start somewhere. We used celebrity voices, film and social media to challenge OCD stereotypes in the places that helped spread them.
Celebrity culture
When celebrities say “I’m so OCD,” a diagnosis becomes a catchphrase or a point of pride.
We worked with celebrities living with OCD to bring their own experiences into that conversation.
Celebrity-led adsFilm & TV
Film and TV often reduce OCD to a character quirk. Monk’s comic rituals are a familiar example.
Our companion film focused on the internal experience, with clinical input to guide the portrayal.
The companion filmSocial media
“So OCD” jokes and “oddly satisfying” posts can make OCD look like a taste for order.
We used symptom-first videos to lead from recognizable experiences into medically reviewed education.
Educational videos01 / CELEBRITY ADVERTISING
TV · STREAMING · YOUTUBEWe challenged celebrity misuse
with celebrities.
HOWIE MANDEL · MARIA BAMFORD
We built TV, streaming, and YouTube ads around their lived experience, bringing a more truthful picture of OCD into the celebrity conversation.
The ads were designed to turn awareness into visits to NOCD.com, where people could learn more and explore treatment.
ORIGINAL CAMPAIGN FOOTAGE
The truth about Perinatal OCD · 30 seconds
NOCD specialty-treatment campaign · 30 seconds
Original ad excerpts in illustrative room mockups. These scenes are not photographs of actual placements.
02 / COMPANION FILM
NARRATIVE FILM · 11 MINUTESA companion film challenged
the on-screen stereotype.
For All I Know puts a more truthful picture of OCD on screen, where film and TV have so often relied on clichés. Developed with clinical input from NOCD and Dr. Patrick McGrath, the 11-minute companion film brings an internal struggle into view.
A pharmacist with OCD receives an unexpected visit from her estranged daughter, bringing long-buried fears back to the surface.
Watch the film on Healthline
- DIRECTION
- Sam Sabawi
- STARRING
- Rachel Alig
- CLINICAL PARTNER
- NOCD · Dr. Patrick McGrath
- PREMIERE
- OCD Awareness Week 2025
03 / EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS
HEALTHLINE · YOUTUBEWe challenged online misinformation
with an educational bait and switch.
We led with experiences people might recognize, such as replaying a past event or repeatedly doubting a relationship. Some titles deliberately left out “OCD.” The videos then introduced the condition, explained how those experiences can relate to its symptoms, and pointed to information about treatment.
The 12-video Healthline series covers OCD symptoms, treatment, and lived experience, with medical review by NOCD specialists. Six of the 12 titles omit “OCD.”
04 / HEALTHLINE HUB
FILM · EDUCATION · RESOURCESAn editorial hub that
brought the campaign together.
We brought the film, educational videos, and OCD resources together on Healthline, giving people a place to keep learning after an ad or a video caught their attention.
Visit the Healthline hub
05 / RESULTS
REPORTED CAMPAIGN RESULTSResults and impact
Ad impressions
across CTV & linear TV
Festival recognitions
reported in the campaign case study
Ad impressions and festival recognitions are reported in the campaign case study. The Webby category is verified against the official winners list.
Edinburgh selection: Nightpiece Film Festival at the Fringe. ACS Gold: cinematographer Judd Overton. Chicago FEEDBACK: Best Performances.
RESPONSE TO THE ADS
Public conversations
SPRINGHILL’S MAVERICKS · JANUARY 22, 2025
Lil Wayne
“When he said constant, I was like, huh”
On Mavericks, Lil Wayne recalled a Howie Mandel OCD commercial and related its description of constant thoughts to the rhymes running through his own mind.
Watch the quote · 10:46HOWIE MANDEL’S PODCAST · MAY 5, 2026
Billy Bob Thornton
The ads prompted a call.
“I got to call Howie up because it might be interesting to share this with you”
After repeatedly seeing Howie Mandel’s ads, Billy Bob Thornton called him to share his own experience. In the interview, he went on to describe how exhausting OCD can be.
Watch the conversation
FORTUNE · JUNE 7, 2026
Howie Mandel
“Celebrities galore… Saying me too. The real me too.”
On the people who contacted him after seeing the NOCD ads.
Read the interviewPRESS & PODCASTS
Coverage & conversations
TRADE PRESS · NOVEMBER 3, 2025
MM+M
MM+M covered the film’s approach to OCD representation.
Read the featureArchival page capture from the campaign case study.
TRADE COMMENTARY · OCTOBER 30, 2025
MediaPost / Pharma & Health Insider
MediaPost examined the film in a commentary on how OCD is portrayed on screen.
Read the featureOriginal publication capture.
HEALTHLINE MEDIA PODCAST · OCTOBER 16, 2025
Inside Mental Health / Psych Central
Sam Sabawi and Rachel Alig joined Gabe Howard on Inside Mental Health to discuss the film.
Listen to the interviewSam Sabawi and Rachel Alig in conversation with Gabe Howard.FILM RESPONSE
Viewer responses
Viewers described recognizing their own experiences in the film.
POST-MORTEM
Make the medium
part of the correction.
The creative lesson was to start where a misconception takes hold, then plan what comes next. Celebrity testimony addressed casual misuse. The film showed the internal experience that screen portrayals often miss. Symptom-first videos gave familiar questions a route into education. The Healthline hub connected those entry points to information about OCD and treatment, giving each piece of work a useful next step beyond awareness.
Next case: Wellos
I silently suffer from harm OCD. I also work as a nurse. The visceral reaction I had to this film…was so raw. I started balling my eyes out. Finally, I feel understood. Maybe, just maybe, I’m not the monster my mind says I am.
I just wanted to say this video clearly had heart and care put into it. This deserves so much more views than it already has, and the way it portrays OCD is realistic and raises awareness beautifully. Thank you for this masterpiece.
I had to pause this halfway through because of the intensity and how realistic it felt.
OCD is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. 💔 This video is so accurate. Thanks