December 6, 2010
In a daring move away from its traditional marketing channels Repromed, Australia’s leading infertility research and treatment provider, is about to embark on a cheeky new national campaign to recruit sperm donors.
Themed “don’t waste your sperm’,’ the January 2011 campaign to run in men’s magazine FHM, involves a full page picture of an attractive lingerie model and an interactive website questionnaire that goes live on December 6.
Repromed SA marketing manager Miranda Smith said there was a “significant’’ lack of donors in South Australia, reflective of the situation across Australia.
“For some people, their only hope of having a child is with the aid of sperm, egg or embryo donors, but it’s also a complex and lifelong decision,’’ she said.
“There are increasing numbers of couples requiring sperm donation as a result of the trend for more women leaving it until they are in their 30s or later to start a family.
“We are also seeing greater numbers of same sex couples wanting a family and lifestyle factors having a negative impact on men’s fertility, meaning more couples need the help of a sperm donor.
“I felt it was crucial we create a unique campaign to increase awareness and effectively capture the attention of potential donors.’’
Some fertility clinics have blamed the Australia-wide decline in donor numbers on recent law changes. In South Australia donors must be prepared to allow the release of identifying information to offspring, while in other states police checks are required and donors must place their details on a state-held register.
Ms Smith said all potential donors undergo a series of medical checks and counseling sessions before being accepted to the program.
Sperm donor criteria include those who are:
- Ideally aged between 21 and 40 years;
- Not at high risk of infectious disease;
- Prepared to consent to the release of identifying information to offspring;
- Prepared to undertake screening tests for infectious and genetic diseases;
- Able to provide a genetic family medical history;
- Prepared to complete a Lifestyle declaration form;
- Have not previously donated to facility, clinic or person;
- Willing to comply with all relevant legislation and regulation relating to sperm donation including the SA Rreproductive Technology (Clinical Practices) Act 1988 and SA Family Relationships Act 1975.
Repromed’s campaign brief to Adelaide advertising and marketing firm Jam was to highlight the critical shortage of registered sperm donors in Australia and encourage more men to sign up.
Peter Joy, Jam principal and strategy director, said that given a tight budget and two week timeframe, senior creative writer Jonnny Velis and art director Becq Hinton, soon developed an attention grabbing idea to take the issue to a wider male audience.
“It’s a serious issue and we wanted to put the idea out there but in a fun, light hearted and cheeky way to get the point across, hence the pin-up girl with the words ‘don’t waste your sperm’ overlayed’,” Peter said.
“The website, linking them back to Repromed, asks men to respond to a series of important filtering questions to see if they qualify as a donor – things like weight, age, health and lifestyle questions. Again it’s styled fairly light heartedly but with a point.’’
Further information please contact: Miranda Smith at Repromed on (08)8333 8185, 0412 103 195, msmith@repromed.com.au
Peter Joy at Jam on (08) 8100 9100
Issued by Hughes Public Relations: Catherine Bauer on 0420 529 027
