• by Les Luchter , Yesterday

Mention ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and images of fidgety and restless young males may come to mind.

After all, boys are twice as likely as girls to be diagnosed with the condition, notes Supernus Pharmaceuticals, which has marketed its Qelbree ADHD treatment since 2021.

That’s because women frequently have more easily overlooked symptoms, “leading many to go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed until adulthood,” Supernus Vice President of Marketing Rebecca Lannan tells Marketing Daily.

One such woman was actress Busy Philipps, now playing the role of “Ms. Represented” in a Supernus campaign designed to empower women to understand their ADHD symptoms. “I thought I was just too loud, too scattered,” she says in a campaign video, which begins by showing her at a desk sporting a sign that reads, “I’m far too busy.”  

“I’d start packing for a trip and then suddenly end up reorganizing my sock drawer,” she says. “I just thought that I couldn't keep up juggling work and motherhood and everything in between.”

The campaign launched with a sponsored article on women’s news publication Bustle, which handled creative and production for all editorial content and a “Ms. Represented” web hub. Paid ads driving consumers to the hub are running on Meta, YouTube and Snapchat, with campaign strategy and media buying handled by Burson.

Philipps had already been working with Supernus and Qelbree for a year to spread the message of ADHD underdiagnosis in women before the current effort, which Lannan explains “hopes to empower women with ADHD to understand their symptoms, speak with their healthcare provider and go from misrepresented to Ms. Represented.”

While Supernus has made a point of the underdiagnosis of ADHD in adult women, Lannan notes that Qelbree treats both males and females, aged six and older.

On its “All About ADHD” YouTube channel, Qelbree has just launched a four-part series starring Fox NFL reporter and ADHD patient Jay Glazerand his actress/model wife Rosie, which explores the impact of ADHD – and the brand -- on their relationship. Here's episode one.