Health Campaign

The health campaign I want to analyze for this assignment is “The World’s Biggest Asshole”, a PSA to promote millennial males to donate organs or sign up to be organ donors. This campaign did a very good job of grabbing the viewer’s attention and does not conform to other health PSAs because of the provocative use of dark humor instead of the typical use of framing young children in need.

The main character of this PSA is Coleman Sweeney, the world’s biggest asshole. This PSA takes you through a range of emotions, first being anger. Sweeney is shown throwing coins at a stripper, honking and yelling at an old woman crossing the street, giving a kid a cigarette and shooting a paint gun at a dog, among many more “asshole” worthy actions. Then, Sweeney dies in a restaurant while arguing over payment, still managing to be an “asshole” until his last seconds of life. Viewers are captured by his actions and angered by his lifestyle and attitude, when viewers discover he was an organ donor. The individual lives he saves by donating his organs are shown, along with their families, impacting countless people. This light-heartedness at the end brings viewers to tears, completing the emotional roller coaster of anger, laughter and joy. The character was made as much of an “asshole” as possible with producers knowing he would be redeemed on the back end of the story- that is why this campaign works. The story of Coleman Sweeney is a relatable to numerous people because everyone has that “asshole” family member that almost enjoys offending people and many people know someone who has needed some form of organ transplant.

It is not necessarily a gain frame type of health communication because it does not say if you are not a donor you are an “asshole”. It is saying that if you do donate, even if you live your life like Sweeney, you are helping countless people and families. Other people have something to gain from your decision to be a donor and you have nothing to lose.