NHS Blood and Transplant partners with Disney’s Marvel to encourage Black donors
Health authority’s tie-up with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever film aims to reach a new Black audience.
Disney’s Marvel Studios has teamed up with NHS Blood and Transplant and the Science Museum to harness the fictional sci-fi appeal of Wakanda to inspire people of Black heritage to come forward and give blood.
For the NHS, the Marvel tie-up will harness its franchise star power to meet the urgent demand for 250 donations every day to treat a variety of blood disorders.
Advertisement
Zeeshan Asghar, head of commercial partnerships for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “We hope this exciting partnership will help us in reaching a new Black audience with the message that they have the power to provide life-changing blood donations for sickle cell patients.”
In tandem with these efforts, the blockbuster has inspired the Technicians gallery at the Science Museum, which takes a look at the people who toil behind the scenes to make new technologies a reality and to promote career paths in the film industry.
Commenting on the Technicians initiative, Lee Jury, the senior vice-president of studios marketing at The Walt Disney Company EMEA, added: “This collaboration is another great example of how Disney’s Future Storytellers initiative is working to increase access to careers in filmmaking for under-represented groups, opening up the possibility for more young people to work in the creative industries and helping build up their talent and skills in the process.”
Advertisement
The NHS partnership is the third and largest joint campaign between The Walt Disney Company UK&I and NHBST, following similar collaborations on Free Guy and Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Credits
NHS agencies
Media planning: Manning Gottlieb OMD
Media buying: OmniGov @ Manning Gottlieb OMD
Creative: Livity and Havas London
Cultural consultancy: OMG Unite
Public relations: Red Havas
Disney agency
Brand partnership: Lime Communications