Get Covered Illinois
Get Covered Illinois
Get Covered Illinois
Yarney.
Yarney.
Yarney.
Role
Creative Director
Role
Creative Director
Client
Get COvered Illinois
Client
Get COvered Illinois
Discipline
Healthcare / Animation
Discipline
Healthcare / Animation
Region
Chicago
Region
Chicago
The Brief
The Brief
Sometimes the most important messages are the hardest to hear — especially when they're buried in complexity. Get Covered Illinois faced that problem head-on: they needed to reach a key audience with critical information about a protection most people had never heard of.
At the center was the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act — a law that guarantees equal coverage for mental health, substance use, and medical care. Vital, but buried in dense, technical language. For the people who needed it most, it simply wasn't landing.
Sometimes the most important messages are the hardest to hear — especially when they're buried in complexity. Get Covered Illinois faced that problem head-on: they needed to reach a key audience with critical information about a protection most people had never heard of.
At the center was the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act — a law that guarantees equal coverage for mental health, substance use, and medical care. Vital, but buried in dense, technical language. For the people who needed it most, it simply wasn't landing.
The Solution
The Solution
Simplicity had to lead the way. So we introduced an ambassador — a friendly, approachable companion who could translate mental health parity into plain, human language, no policy degree required.
Through rounds of exploration, Yarney emerged: a soft ball of yarn built on warmth, comfort, and the subtle feeling of something therapeutic, without ever being on-the-nose about it. Yarney wasn't just a character — it was a connection strategy, grounded in a human-centered read of how Get Covered Illinois' audience actually thinks and feels about their coverage. The goal wasn't to explain the law. It was to make Illinoisans feel like someone was finally on their side.
Simplicity had to lead the way. So we introduced an ambassador — a friendly, approachable companion who could translate mental health parity into plain, human language, no policy degree required.
Through rounds of exploration, Yarney emerged: a soft ball of yarn built on warmth, comfort, and the subtle feeling of something therapeutic, without ever being on-the-nose about it. Yarney wasn't just a character — it was a connection strategy, grounded in a human-centered read of how Get Covered Illinois' audience actually thinks and feels about their coverage. The goal wasn't to explain the law. It was to make Illinoisans feel like someone was finally on their side.
Outcome
Outcome
Several local awards. A 60% uptick in compliance. Over 200,000 views. And the quiet satisfaction of knowing the message finally landed with the people who needed it most.
Next project →
Next project →
Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago