At Gasp we’re all thoroughly enamored with this campaign from Ogilvy & Mather aiming to boost numbers registered for organ donations in Brazil, using the association of Sports Club Recife and the highly emotive concept of making donated organs ‘live on’ to support the club.
"I promise that your eyes will keep on watching Sport Club Recife" and "I promise that your lungs will keep on breathing for Sport Club Recife."
Brazilian football fans are known for their passion, and this video features recently registered donors saying things like; "I promise that your eyes will keep on watching Sport Club Recife" and "I promise that your lungs will keep on breathing for Sport Club Recife." According to the stats quoted in the video, the campaign has been extremely effective, organ donations apparently went up 54 percent in the country and around 51,000 fans of the club said they would hand over their organs when they died, probably a key reason that the campaign won a Lion earlier this month.
I think its fair to say that most people, if asked whether they’d like to transform the life of someone less fortunate after they die, would answer; “Of course” – one of the central arguments for an ‘opt-out’ policy as oppose to an ‘opt in’. However many either never get round to registering or their family find the concept unsettling and refuse. This campaign overcomes such barriers by making it easy for fans to register via Facebook and galvanizing a huge group people to carry a Sports Club Recife Donor card as a sign of commitment to the club.
This video is certainly packed full of emotion, and has made both me and one boss quickly wipe away a tear or two this morning, whilst my other boss shrewdly watched it before getting in the shower this morning, and is thus able to claim that the red and puffy eyes were simply due to getting soap in them.