It was one of the toughest advertising challenges because we had to effect social change by shifting attitudes and changing behaviour. We dug deep and discovered some amazing facts, less than 3% donate blood, yet 80% will need blood at some point in their lives. There also needed to be a sense of urgency as Australia needed 20,000 donations each week.Those facts led us to a creative approach which put simply was, ‘don’t ignore the need for blood’. And we didn’t ignore it. We got everybody involved in the communications to roll up their sleeves and donate.

The TV launched in July with a 60” commercial followed by a 15” cut down. Press ran on a limited budget in local press, targeting specific areas. A number of billboards ran in major high traffic areas such us outside Sydney airport. A limited door drop test was trialed in an area of Brisbane. A DM piece utilising a ‘blood box’ was sent to thirty TV stations asking for help with ‘free’ media, since the Australian Red Cross Blood Service would rather spend their money on saving lives.