New York Organ Donor Network (NYODN) today unveiled LONG LIVE NEW YORK, a new marketing campaign to increase the number of registered organ donors in the greater New York metropolitan area and surrounding counties.  The centerpiece of the campaign is a 90-second animated short film created by Oscar-winning director Laurent Witz (Mr. Hublot, 2014).

“The Long Live New York campaign is designed to tap into New York pride and sense of community to inspire New Yorkers to act on their positive feelings about organ donation, and register,” said James Pardes, NYODN Vice President of Marketing and Communications.  “Just 23% of New Yorkers are registered donors, yet 83% support organ donation.  This leaves New York 49th out of 50 states with regard to the percentage of residents registered as organ donors.  For the 10,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in New York, we must do better, and we’re hopeful that this unique campaign will help.”   

The film is inspired by the steampunk aesthetic of Witz’s Academy Award-winning animated short Mr. Hublot and depicts a melancholy, seemingly post-apocalyptic New York City crumbling to pieces. New Yorkers then begin carrying pieces of the broken city (street signs, manhole covers, Grand Central clock), to form a beating heart restoring life into the city.

“It was an honor to work on this film. I chose to dedicate myself to this project because I think signing up to become an organ donor is a wonderful cause and I was struck by the need in New York,” Witz said. “It is my hope that this film inspires New Yorkers, arouses emotions and creates a spark that will drive people to register to become organ donors that could in turn save lives.”

NYODN worked closely with advertising agency Y&R New York to design the campaign.  Since early September, unbranded posters in New York City subways have featured an illustration based on the film with the tagline “New York is Dying” and the hashtag #LongLiveNY.  The posters were designed to generate buzz and intrigue in advance of the roll out.

“The need for organ donation in New York has never been higher, which is why the work that New York Organ Donor Network is doing is so vital. They remind us that we each have the power to save lives, and they provide us with the path to doing so,” said Glen Jacobs, Executive Creative Director, Y&R New York.  “We developed the ‘Long Live New York’ campaign as a way to communicate the urgency of the need for organ donation while also emphasizing the power of legacy in donation.  It is critically important that we do our part to ensure that all New Yorkers have the chance to live on.”

Other campaign elements include LongLiveNY.org, a new online hub designed to encourage New Yorkers to register to become organ donors and advocate for the cause, posters on Long Island Railroad and MetroNorth trains and a video spot that will air in local Department of Motor Vehicle offices. NYODN will also ramp up community outreach efforts with tabling events throughout the city. 

The animated film will air digitally on Facebook, Hulu and Say Media. Click here to view.  
To register to be an organ donor, or to learn more about NYODN please visit http://www.LongLiveNY.org/.