2022 Winner
BronzeBest in Audio
Canada’s Organ & Tissue
Donation Community
"The Donated Commercial"
DonerNorth
Donation Community
"The Donated Commercial"
DonerNorth
More than 90% of Canadians support organ and tissue donation, but only 32% are registered as organ donors. And currently, 4,400 Canadians are awaiting an organ transplant. Signing up is easy to do, but it isn’t top of mind for most.
They needed to find a simple way to demonstrate the lost potential in organs left undonated after someone dies.
This got them thinking, what else could be recycled and given a new life to get the message across? What about something that is created with blood, sweat and tears, only to fade out of existence after a few weeks of airtime? What about all those dead ads?
So rather than tell people that their organs could have a second life, it decided to show them.
To demonstrate how organ donation works, it used the medium of audio and donated parts from over 40 other commercials. The challenge was to ensure the message was clearly understood while also showcasing that all its parts had been transplanted from elsewhere.
Although the ads had been heard before, the technique used to create the piece was fresh and new. It clearly showed potential donors that like these recycled ads, their organs could do so much more. Hundreds of old commercials were listened to and transcribed to find the right moments and phrases to help build the message. From searching to sound mixing, it continued to evolve and rewrite the script to ensure it included the best pieces to create the clearest message.
After scrutinizing each piece of audio to make sure they could flow together clearly and seamlessly, it worked with sound engineers to splice the segments together and balance them out. The process was lengthy and labour intensive, but it helped it achieve a message that both said and showed the benefits of organ donation.
The numbers had a life of their own too. With a 95% completion rate and an 87.5% increase in Spotify’s average clickthrough rate, people were listening. This ultimately led to a huge increase in donor signups. 79% of people registered to donate their organs and give them a second life, leading to hundreds of potential lives saved.
They needed to find a simple way to demonstrate the lost potential in organs left undonated after someone dies.
This got them thinking, what else could be recycled and given a new life to get the message across? What about something that is created with blood, sweat and tears, only to fade out of existence after a few weeks of airtime? What about all those dead ads?
So rather than tell people that their organs could have a second life, it decided to show them.
To demonstrate how organ donation works, it used the medium of audio and donated parts from over 40 other commercials. The challenge was to ensure the message was clearly understood while also showcasing that all its parts had been transplanted from elsewhere.
Although the ads had been heard before, the technique used to create the piece was fresh and new. It clearly showed potential donors that like these recycled ads, their organs could do so much more. Hundreds of old commercials were listened to and transcribed to find the right moments and phrases to help build the message. From searching to sound mixing, it continued to evolve and rewrite the script to ensure it included the best pieces to create the clearest message.
After scrutinizing each piece of audio to make sure they could flow together clearly and seamlessly, it worked with sound engineers to splice the segments together and balance them out. The process was lengthy and labour intensive, but it helped it achieve a message that both said and showed the benefits of organ donation.
The numbers had a life of their own too. With a 95% completion rate and an 87.5% increase in Spotify’s average clickthrough rate, people were listening. This ultimately led to a huge increase in donor signups. 79% of people registered to donate their organs and give them a second life, leading to hundreds of potential lives saved.
Credits
AGENCY: DonerNorthChief Creative Officer: Lance Martin
Executive Creative Directors: Adam Thur & Rica Eckersley
Associate Creative Director & Copywriter: Jill Mack
Associate Creative Director & Copywriter: Lynn Sparrow
Associate Creative Director & Art Director: Justin Turco
VP, Integrated Production: Jen Dark
VP, Production Services: Julie Riley
Audio Editor & Producer: Jonathan Lajoie
Audio Editor: Doug Groves
President: Catherine Marcolin
VP, Group Account Director: Olivia Damiani
Account Supervisor: Leigh McParland
Account Coordinator: Kimberly Barton
VP, Group Media Director: Cherie Raymond
Media Director: Samantha Marion
AUDIO HOUSE: Berkeley Inc.
Creative Director: Jared Kuemper
Engineer: Tyler Young
Executive Producer: Tyna Maerzke
CLIENT: Canada’s Organ and Tissue Donation Community
ALT: Canadian Blood Services’ Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Program, on behalf of Canada’s Organ and Tissue Donation Community:
Manager, Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation:
Jenny Ryan
Specialist, Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation:
Ross FitzGerald