Putting gobs to good use

The client and the challenge

Our most important work to date

There’s this mate of ours, Pete McCleave. He’s a dad, a husband, an Ironman athlete — and he’s got blood cancer. And his life can only be saved by finding a stem cell donor match.

Problem is, only 3% of the UK population are on the stem cell donor register, so the chances of Pete finding his match aren’t great — especially as his Portuguese, Chinese and Macanese genetic heritage pretty much sums up the term ‘melting pot’. 

There are some amazing charities working to improve this, not least DKMS, Anthony Nolan and Pete’s own start-up, 10,000 Donors. But Pete’s our pal, and his work has led to lots of people finding their stem cell heroes. Now we wanted to help find his. 

The big idea

Got a gob? Be a hero.

Getting on the stem cell registry is easy. All you need to do is order a swab kit, swirl a cotton bud around your gob for two minutes, then send it back in the post. Ta-dah. Done.

But not many people know it’s that easy. So we came up with a super-positive and crystal-clear message that said, no matter who you are, if you’ve got a gob, you can be a hero.

Gob For Good looks awesome. It's everything it needs to be: disruptive, attention-grabbing and super-positive. Woven's unwavering engagement and support cannot be overstated."

Peter McCleave — Founder, 10000 Donors and Gob For Good

A star-powered campaign

To get the message out there, we enlisted some of the biggest gobs out there. Using the power of the message — and Pete’s magnetic personality — we’ve amplified the voices of black and ethnic minority celebrities to help overcome the inequality in representation among non-whites.  

As a result, Pete and the Gob For Good campaign have teamed up with stars such as Alesha Dixon, Trevor Nelson, Priya Davdra and Marsha Thomason to raise awareness and get people from all backgrounds using their gob for good. 

A website to get gobby about

A great campaign needs a great website, and Gob For Good is no different. We wrote, designed and built the Gob For Good site as a way to boost awareness, encourage cell register sign-ups, and raise money to fund the vital work done by blood cancer charities.

(So, if you’re reading this and feel like using your gob for good, you know where to go…)

The result

Gob For Good has made a lot of noise. It’s featured on ITV News, Sky News and during rugby Premier League matches

But there’s always more awareness to raise, more gobs needed for the cause. So we’ll keep on beating the drum via email campaigns, social and PR to help more people win their battle against blood cancer. And, with any luck, to help Pete win his.

Want to help out? Order your gob swab from the gobforgood.com and get yourself on the stem cell register. Who knows, one day it might save someone’s life.