Advertising agency Markham Yard developed a fun and catchy way to urge people to donate their blood for the New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe).
Through the use of colorful clay animation and a whimsical song, the Miami-based agency was able to get their message across — great things happen when you do good things, like donating blood to save lives.
Made together with Brooklyn-based production house Roof Studio, “Good Karma by the Pint” was launched last Friday on World Blood Donor Day.
“We’ve been working with Markham Yard for the last three years, and their original and clever campaigns have inspired more and more people to join the fight in ensuring a healthy blood supply,” NYBCe SVP Andrea Cefarelli shared in a statement.
Markham Yard, NYBCe’s agency on record, created this evergreen campaign for the nonprofit to encourage people to start or continue donating blood as a good deed that will never go out of style.
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According to the agency, developing a blood donation campaign that will resonate with people was not without challenges, with usual executions focusing on a more serious approach of showing its societal benefits or giving incentives.
With intensive research, Markham Yard was able to find the concept behind the campaign: “The social currency of being seen as someone who participates in a good cause is a powerful motivator.”
“Blood donation is such a fundamentally important thing for people to understand and participate in,” Markham Yard Founder Markham Cronin said in a press release.
“Our goal was to amplify the reasons why they should donate in a way that is not preachy but engaging and fun.”
NYBCe is a community-based blood bank that gathers about 4,000 units of blood daily, catering to over 75 million people.
A Fun Way to Send a Powerful Message
The hero spot shows a man doing a bunch of good deeds in tune with the lines of the song, such as guiding an old lady in crossing the street, helping a choking stranger, and bringing down a cat from a tree.
All these incidents happen while the man is on his way to donate blood, leading up to the catchy chorus that goes:
♫♪♪ Good karma by the pint
Donate blood and you just might
Save three people’s lives
And get a season’s worth of good vibes ♫♪♪
The second verse shows how everyday kindness that goes a long way, including paying for a stranger’s parking meter, not answering your phone in the cinema, and trading seats on the plane.
The bridge then transitions to a call to action: “But there’s one thing everybody may need, and you can show the world how if you just take the lead.”
The man then leads a parade of people around the neighborhood who donate blood followed by a musical band, emphasizing that with just an hour of your time, “who knows how many people you’ll save?”
NYBCe has blood donor sites across eight American states, and the campaign directs viewers to visit one of its centers to get their “Good Karma by the Pint,” closing the commercial.
With two shorter versions of the 80-second spot, the campaign will be rolled out on digital and social media platforms with connected TV (CTV) and radio executions.
