Lifebanc: Marathon

TV, online and poster campaign aims to persuade idealistic college students to check a box and become an organ donor. The simple creative is based on the strategic insight that no good deed is easier than registering as an organ donor—summed up in the campaign tag: “Good made easy,” with a checkmark through good’s second o.

Two TV :15s both begin with the sound of typing, as text goes up onscreen: “You could test the water quality of the Congo River for local villagers,” goes the first. “But there are bugs in the Congo River. Really. Big. Bugs.” Similarly, the second reads: “You could quit your job and volunteer in a third world country. But that requires shots. Lots, and lots of shots.” Typing then gives way to carefree whistling and the short spots end: “Or you could become an organ, eye and tissue donor at Lifebanc.org.”

Static digital banners and 11” x 17” print posters offer two check boxes and other choices between easy altruism and hard. “Dedicate your life to becoming the ultimate humanitarian. [or]
Check this box, then dedicate your life to Ultimate Frisbee,” reads one. The other: “Run 26.2 miles for charity. [or] Check this box, then watch a Kardashians marathon.”

Lifebanc especially wants young (18 - 25) and healthy potential donors, male or female. The posters will be wildposted on college campuses, in student centers, dorms, quads, dining halls. More broadly, the TV will run on select CBS- and NBC-affiliated stations and the online banners will appear, via Collective Media Ad Network, on sites including ESPN, USA Today Sports, Cosmopolitan, TMZ, Accuweather and Associated Press.

Lifebanc, Cleveland, a nonprofit organization, saves and heals lives through organ and tissue donation for transplantation. Last year, Lifebanc helped to heal and save more than 25,000 lives, but the demand for organs far exceeds the supply. Each day, 18 people in the U.S. die because an organ is not available. lifebanc.org