France has consistently had the highest rate of opposition to organ donation in Europe for over 20 years, with a refusal rate of 30%. This is particularly evident among teenagers and young adults who find the concept too abstract to engage with. It’s not that they’re against organ donation, but rather they simply don’t think or talk about it. Despite legal frameworks presuming everyone to be donors, it’s necessary to counter the lack of engagement and conversation about this topic, especially among the youth, by shifting the way their perceive organ donation. The objectives were to address this issue by creating engaging and relatable content that would spark conversations about organ donation among young French audiences, ultimately fostering a cultural shift in attitudes towards organ donation among the youth.

To facilitate open discussions about the sensitive topic of organ donation among young people and their social circles, we opted for an unconventional approach: a quirky animated series directly on social media. This 8-episode cartoon delves into the lives of our organs and their connection to human mortality in a taboo-free manner, showing that the lives of our organs shouldn’t end with our human life : their lives can go on in a different body. While cartoons are popular in France, organ donation has never been explored in this light. Our strategy leverages the popularity of animation styles akin to 'Rick and Morty' and an irreverent tone, we aimed to merge entertainment with awareness-raising. Our creative approach engages young audiences through familiar and enjoyable content while delivering a crucial message. This initiative not only promotes organ health but also offers hope to those awaiting transplants.

More than 90% of young French people (aged 16-24) use the Internet every day, with over 80% engaging on social media platforms. These digital natives spend several hours daily sharing content, interacting with their friends and following influencers and celebrities. Regardless of gender, approximately 72% of them use social media for information. Their favorite platforms are TikTok and Instagram, hence the need to engage with them through these channels. With a keen understanding of their digital habits and preferences, we tailor our content to resonate effectively with young French audience. By leveraging TikTok and Instagram, we aim to seamlessly integrate our campaign into their daily digital routine, fostering meaningful interaction and driving awareness and engagement around our message.

“Les Zorganes” is an 8-episode cartoon series meticulously crafted to educate, entertain and captivate audiences about organ donation. Developed in collaboration with a French animation studio, the series was strategically launched across popular social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, targeting young French audiences where they are the most active online and to appeal to their sensibilities. More crafted than your average TikTok video or Instagram Reels, the project entailed extensive planning, scripting, storyboarding, character design, animation, voiceover recording and post-production for each episode. The cartoon resonated with its target demographic, benefiting from its prominent presence on social media platforms. The timeline varied based on episode length and complexity, with several months dedicated to comprehensive pre-production (to conceive every aspect of each episode), production (to animate characters and to lip sync them with recorded voices) and post-production phases (to adjust the sound design).

The series reached 23,000,000 views, engaging previously disinterested viewers. Over one out of three young viewers watched it, resulting in 76,000 new TikTok followers on a freshly created account and over 580,000 likes. Instagram followers also grew from 4,000 to 25,000. Post-tests show that 92% found it effective in understanding organ donation, with 85% seeing it as a valuable conversation starter. Additionally, 34% of young French viewers now feel more connected to organ donation, with 80% taking action after watching it. The series was perceived as a fun and appreciated way to raise awareness in comparison to previous efforts.