Finding ‘The World’s Biggest Asshole’

Look at the image at the top of this article. Does this look like the vehicle of a hero to you? OK, he might not be the guy Bonnie Tyler was holding out for, the wind beneath Bette Midler’s wings or Chad Kroger’s saviour, but the star of The Martin Agency’s latest work for Donate Life ticks the champion tickbox where it’s needed.

In the aptly named ‘The World’s Biggest Asshole’ we meet Coleman F. Sweeney, a despicable fella whose day-to-day antics are detailed for us in fine comedic form. The film, directed by Furlined’s Speck & Gordon, features impeccably cast Thomas Jane as Sweeney and actor Will Arnett as the VO.

We loved the film and its recent online success, so caught up with Wade Alger, SVP/Group Creative Director at The Martin Agency to chat about the concept, the casting and just how much assholery they could fit in a single character.

Where did the concept for the campaign come from?

This campaign for Donate Life grew out of a personal passion of a few of our people here at The Martin Agency. As the idea grew, everyone involved realized the potential, life-saving impact of this approach and pitched in with their time, talent and funding to bring it to life.

Was it tough to convince the client that a film about a bad person could convince people to make a good decision?

David Fleming, CEO of Donate Life knew we had to take a new approach to talking to this audience in order to really make a difference. With David’s help we convinced the board that while they might ‘get’ the work, it would reach the intended audience and resonate with them in a new and relevant way. 

Were you aiming at a specific market with the campaign? Organ donation is something pretty much anyone can sign up for, but we get the sense that this was maybe aimed at a younger demographic.

In recent years, Donate Life America has seen a drop in young people —particularly millennial men – registering to be donors.  So we needed a campaign that would act as a wakeup call and not only reinforce how easy saving a life can be, but point out that almost anyone can do it. Our creative team came up with the concept, "Even an Asshole Can Save a Life”. The thought is that anyone, even the world’s biggest asshole, can become a hero through organ donation. The campaign uses language that may be startling to some, but is increasingly routine among younger audiences. 

The campaign taps into the current trend in entertainment of darker, edgier storytelling reaching a younger demographic – specifically a younger male demographic. Current data suggest that young men have lower rates of donor registration than young women. Young men are also statistically more likely to be a donor and men make up 75% of the national organ transplant waiting list. We wanted to reach young men with a powerful message in a culturally relevant context.

How did you come up with the terrible things that Coleman gets up to? Tell me that there’s a list somewhere in your office full of asshole-behaviour?

Believe it or not, yes there is a list. And some ideas were beyond being an Asshole so we didn’t use them. Between all parties involved we evaluated each asshole move to decide whether it was appropriate or not.

Was there anything that didn’t make it to screen?

Yes plenty. And no, I’m not sharing them with you.

The piece flows like a comedy short rather than a traditional ‘ad’, which make the switch to the message more enjoyable. Were you keen to get that sense across?

Yes, we wanted to make this feel more like a film and less like an ad. To your point it allowed us to play out the scenarios and develop Coleman’s character a bit more, so when we did switch him from Asshole to Hero it was all the more compelling.

How did you decide on Furlined’s Speck and Gordon for the project? What was it about their work that you thought would make a good fit?

Furlined was kind enough to partner with us on this project from day one. Will and Josh’s ability to tell compelling stories, and their belief that this was a great cause, really came through in the final product. They are the best storytellers out there, hands down. We couldn’t have partnered with a better production company or directors.

How was shooting with them?

Will and Josh have shot with our agency before and they have a solid reputation for delivering great creative. This was my first shoot with them and the collaboration from the first phone call was what really impressed me. They knew what they wanted, they knew what we wanted and I can honestly say we were on the same page during the entire production. Again, we couldn’t ask for better partners on this project.

An unrecognisable Thomas Jane plays Coleman. Where you specifically looking for a ‘name’ to take the part? Did Jane have to dig deep to find his inner asshole?

We really were. We knew star power would add to this film going viral. Again we were fortunate that both Thomas Jane and Will Arnett brought their amazing talent to the screen.  Thomas was amazing on set and he really never broke character until Will and Josh wrapped the final scene. And Will Arnett did take after take of the voice over until he felt it was perfect. It was really great and we are very appreciative of their contribution.

Were you ever worried about the film’s title being taken literally, because… you know… the internet?

This campaign is meant to grab attention and make someone stop in their tracks and think about organ donation. If we made it “Even a jerk could save a life”, we probably would not get the type of reaction we needed from our target audience. We did focus groups to see how our target would react. The language didn’t offend, which is great. Rather the juxtaposition of comedy to serious to comedy (the ending) absolutely resonated. They felt like Donate Life America was an organization that was really serious about connecting with a younger audience, so much so, that they’d venture outside of the conventional non-profit messaging they’d normally tune out. That spoke volumes to them.

Are you pleased with the response? What’s your ideal outcome with this campaign?

Very pleased. I mean 51 million views in six days with no paid media is amazing. What’s even more amazing is that it’s working. Registrations are up significantly with millennial males since launch. And I think anyone involved with this would tell you that’s the biggest win.

Can we expect any more films along similar lines? Will we ever see an extended day of Coleman’s bad manners?

You will definitely see more from Donate Life. Coleman was our catalyst to start the conversation. Now we will build on the momentum.