The majority of the 20,000 patients in the US who require treatment for blood cancer rely on stem cell or marrow donors.
Barriers to donation include lack of awareness and the need for potential donors to apply online for test kits that match them with patients. So in July 2025, Gift of Life Marrow Registry partnered with FMCG corporation Mars Wrigley for a campaign designed to remove these barriers.
The Hero Gum collaboration was inspired by the knowledge that chewing a piece of gum for five minutes provides a viable sample for testing to join Gift of Life’s registry.
The project, created with Adam&eveDDB New York, turned packs of Wrigley Doublemint gum into a scientifically validated method for DNA collection. Wrigley’s packaging was redesigned to feature the Hero Gum name and appeal to younger donors as part of a registration kit distributed at events, college campuses, and community centres across the US.
Once chewed, potential donors place their gum in the Hero Gum kit envelope to send it to the Gift of Life offices, which assigns them a unique donor identification number. The gum is then sent to a lab for testing.
On 1 August, hundreds of Hero Gum kits were distributed to fans attending the New York Mets versus San Fransisco Giants baseball game.
To promote the campaign Adam&eveDDB New York created a 30-second animated film (which premiered on the stadium Jumbotron at the Mets game), digital and social banners, a custom landing page, gum packaging, testing kit envelopes, and activation print materials.
W Communications North America provided PR support to help raise awareness.
