When We Choose to Give Blood, 'Who's Saving Who?'

We're all in this together

The line “I’m here to save you” doesn’t feel out of place for a campaign designed to boost blood donations across Canada.

But the speaker, and his fraught situation, might surprise viewers in a :90 from agency Diamond and Scouts Honour director James Michael Chiang.

This appeal inverts expectations, with folks in need shown during illness or in extreme peril. They speak directly to the camera, reminding potential donors that giving blood can be a transcendent experience in and of itself.

And when a crash victim, trapped in an upside-down vehicle, vows to save us, his words resonate like quiet thunder down the debris-strewn highway.

In a broader sense, of course, we’re bonded as members of the human family. With the same source of life flowing through our veins, we can all potentially save each other one day.

That said, the campaign’s creators don’t necessarily want viewers to see themselves as future patients.

“It isn’t rooted in fear or guilt,” Lori Davison, strategy chief at Diamond, tells Muse. “It’s about celebrating the incredibly positive, even profound, emotional experience that many donors describe after giving blood.”

“In talking to people who’ve donated 50, 100 times and wear that as a badge of identity, we found something very different driving their continued participation,” she says. “They rarely spoke about who they might be saving. Instead, they talked about what donating means to them: a sense of purpose, of being part of something larger, of contributing in a way that feels grounding in a world full of bad news.”

“Some see it as part of their fitness routine. Others as a way to support Canada’s national healthcare system—something they feel proud to uphold. Many spoke about the social experience, even comparing it to a book club, as a positive ritual done with friends or community.”

As for the rollover sequence, “traumatic traffic accidents are the leading need for blood donors. So from the beginning, we felt that someone who had just suffered a car crash wanting to save you was enormously powerful,” says agency VP, GCD Anand Iyer. “But we didn’t expect to actually flip a car and use that as part of the set.”

“Our production team made that happen, in one shot, using cameras in the car itself, in a trail car and at multiple points on the road and adjoining fields,” Iyer recalls. “Our stunt driver drove the car off a small ramp that we later removed in post production. The end result became the emotional centerpiece of the film.”  

Created for Canadian Blood Services, the effort seeks to attract 1 million donors in the next five years.

To do so, the organization devised a canny mixture of altruism and selfishness. It seems fresh and honest, more so than the typical tug at our heartstrings.

Breaking today, the push features additional videos starring real donors plus OOH elements.