Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network Public Service Announcement Awarded Silver Telly Award
“At the Opera” PSA earns third award, sees increase in donor registration.
Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network has been awarded a Silver Telly Award for its “At the Opera” Public Service Announcement. “At the Opera” is part of a multichannel campaign featuring 30- and 60-second TV spots, digital video, and online banner advertising developed by The San Jose Group, an integrated advertising agency based in Chicago.
Aimed at attracting Illinois and northwest Indiana residents to register as organ and tissue donors in order to provide a lifesaving opportunity to the more than 5,000 people waiting for an organ transplant in Illinois, the PSA campaign was a significant contributor to statewide spikes in registration. Since the launch of the “At the Opera” campaign in June 2013, there has been more than a 15% increase in organ registration at the Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles, where the broad majority of residents choose to register. However, the Gift of Hope website also saw a 176% increase in donor registration compared to the same time the year prior.
The campaign centers around Lola, a first-time opera attendee, whose passion for organ donation and saving lives gets the best of her when a character dramatically faints on stage. Caught in the moment, Lola engages the audience by sharing just how easy it is to register as an organ donor using Gift of Hope’s website, encouraging everyone to take action.
“Throughout creative development, several different storylines and ideas were considered. In the end, we felt it was important for us to break out from the standard in the category,” said George L. San Jose, President and Chief Creative Officer of The San Jose Group. “Our creative team was thrilled that Gift of Hope chose one of the most unique concepts to take to execution.”
This integrated campaign was developed alongside an outreach strategy designed by SJ Public Relations. An affiliate public relations division of The San Jose Group, SJ Public Relations has already won seven awards for outstanding public relations programs for its Gift of Hope campaigns. To date, The San Jose Group’s PSA campaign has earned three awards.
“For some time we’ve seen a consistent pattern in the approach of these particular organizations. Incorporating humor to spark interest from potential donors has been the key to this campaign’s success,” noted San Jose. “We wanted the PSA to capture a peculiar moment that took the uncomfortable topic of death and placed it into a more lighthearted everyday situation. We’re asking for the viewer to stop, think, and make a choice.”
