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Bloody Game—the Blood Donation Wheel of Fortune

Posted on September 29, 2008
Mathieu Picault

Around the world, blood banks are suffering from a very significant shortage of blood donors. The French Blood Service (EFS) is no exception. Any method that gets people to donate blood is worth trying. Especially if it creates a bit of buzz!

It’s in this spirit that the marketing agency Vanksen|Culture-Buzz and the EFS have decided to launch “the Bloody Game!” campaign. With the following viral video, the EFS shows, with humor, that blood donation is not a game, but rather that people’s lives depend on it. The video is in French, but is worth checking out just to get a feel for how Vanksen|Culture-Buzz and the EFS have decided to get their message across. The premise of “the Bloody Game” is that an ER doctor becomes a “Bloody Game” contestant, looking for the blood he needs to save the lives of 3 accident victims. He wins 10 bags of O- blood, but his victims don’t need O-. The game show host sends him off the set and tells him better luck next week and invites the viewers to sign-up for the game. The final message is: "Blood donation isn’t a game. Only 4% of French people donate blood. Help us create change."

This is an original way to target youth as they are very receptive to humorous messages. The video is available at a blood donation site dedicated to the young public: jeunes.dondusang.net.

This isn’t the first time that successfull blood donation campaigns have created buzz. Below are two ambient marketing operations for the Australian Red Cross:

...and two viral videos, the first for a blood bank, the second for the Australian Red Cross:

Some of you might think that it’s inappropriate to talk so lightly of such a serious topic. However, humor helps us pass on many messages. While we’re on the topic: give life, donate blood!