Second Chances
Donate Life California
Issue 51 | June 2019
Agency
Casanova//McCann
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer, North America Eric Silver EVP/Chief Creative Officer Elias Weinstock Executive Creative Director Marco Mun~oz Creative Director Fernando Poblete Associate Creative Director Francisco Rojas Senior Copywriter Christian Mondragon Copywriter Kristen Scharf Senior Art Director Roman Gonzalez
Production Team
Director of Broadcast Production Humberto Rodriguez Producer Flor Castaneda Production Craft Studios New York
Other Credits
President/CEO Ingrid Otero-Smart Account Executive Anthony Chavez Digital Operations Director Jonathan Lackey Communications Director Bruce Stockler VP Director of Technology Erik Kroha Client CEO Jim Martin Program Manager Megan MacNee
Date
April 2019
Background
Donate Life California was the organisation responsible for managing the organ, eye and tissue donor registry in California.
In 2006, organ donation was transformed when Donate Life partnered with the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). When applying for a driving licence, if applicants ticked the YES box for organ donation, their licenses were sent back to them with a pink dot. The pink dot replaced donor cards and stickers and indicated that the holder was a registered donor.
Idea
‘Second Chances’ was a program launched in April 2019, National Donate Life month in the USA, with the participation of three Police departments: Fullerton, Placentia and Cal State in California and extended also to Calgary, Canada.
The idea was simple. When drivers committed a traffic violation, if their driving licences showed the pink dot, they were let off the fine. The Police officers were instructed to thank the drivers for being organ donors. In quite possibly giving someone else a second chance at life, they were given a second chance themselves.
To support the initiative, a video was made showing drivers being given a ‘second chance ticket’ by Police officers.
Results
The simple idea created a road map for other departments around the world to replicate and implement similar organ donation programs.
Our Thoughts
Being pulled over by the cops is one of life’s more uncomfortable experiences but this brilliantly simple idea flips it into a moment that is massively rewarding.
Everyone comes out of it well. The cops are allowed to be nice, the drivers get to feel good about themselves and, with luck, thousands more people sign up to become organ donors in the hope it gets them off their next minor traffic infringement. End result, more people get to survive life-threatening conditions.
It is ‘nudge’ theory at work. While people may think with their rational brains that they really should become organ donors, the irrational brain points out they will never get thanked for it because they’ll be dead. What this brilliant idea does is talk to people’s self- interest as well as to their philanthropy.