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Under the Influence

This audio ad for organ donation was created using 48 donated parts

The commercial demonstrating that something could be brought to life with donated parts launched on Spotify during National Organ & Tissue Donation Week. The results were astounding.
CBC Radio ·
A person walks quickly down a hallway, carrying a red bag, containing a donated organ for transplant.
About 250 people die every year in Canada waiting for an organ transplant. (Radio-Canada)
Under the Influence27:26Putting the Awe in Audio

More than 90 per cent of Canadians support organ and tissue donation. Yet, only 32 per cent are registered as organ donors. And currently, there are over 4,000 Canadians waiting for an organ transplant.

Becoming an organ donor is easy to do – just go to OrganTissueDonation.ca. But so few people do it – or remember to do it.

Back in 1937, an advertising agency called W.B. Donor was founded in Detroit by a 23-year-old named Wilfred Broderick Donor. Today, it employs close to 1,000 people and is one of the largest independent advertising agencies.

It has a Toronto office called DonorNorth. While the name had nothing to do with organ donors, this ad agency came up with a very simple, yet intricate radio message to encourage organ donation. Titled, "The Donated Commercial," it was created in a highly unusual way. It was assembled using 48 donated parts from other commercials. You can listen to the ad here.

It was a very smart ad – demonstrating that something could be brought to life with donated parts. It was launched on Spotify during National Organ & Tissue Donation Week.

The commercial's click-through-rate was 87 per cent higher than the average ad on Spotify. Meaning 87 per cent more people than usual clicked-through to the organ donation website. And 79 per cent of the those people registered to become organ donors.

Demonstrating the power of audio.

For more on Putting the Awe in Audio, click or tap the play button above to hear the full Under the Influence episode. Find more episodes on the CBC Listen app or subscribe to the podcast.