Insight into NHS new organ donation campaign

According to an article from The Guardian (2nd November, Mon), NHS is lauching a television campaign to emphasize the fact that three people died every day owing to shortage of donors.

The campaign features a health-looking boy is watching TV with one of his family. He than gets ill abruptly as the ad notes that we would donate immediately if someone we loved is suffering from disease.

This shocked ad points out the urgent need for organ donation, particularly aims at those who believe but have not registered. As to those people who refuse to do organ donation are not the target. According to the book “Exploring Public Relations, (2006)”:

In persuasion campaign, one of the essential elements is that people must believe that they are capable of making the change required by the campaign. This is called self-efficacy. Campaigns that expect more of the audience than people are able to achieve will fail.(Tench, R., Yeomans, L., 2006)

In this case, NHS is focusing on the gap between the numbers of people who would accept an organ if they needed one and the number who have actually joined the register. But it is worth mentioning that by using shock tactic, it may reinforce negative attitudes and scary myths of organ donation.

The campaign will runs until the end of March next year, also includes an online game, developed by PR firm Munro & Forster based on giving the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz a new heart.