Adelstein's Organ Donor Campaign Going National

Adelstein & Associates/ Chicago's public service television and radio campaign for the Illinois organ donor awareness program is going national under the sponsorship of the Coalition on Donation, a non-profit organization promoting organ and tissue donation. The spots will air nationally through May.

The campaign features Olympic snowboarder and bronze medalist Chris Klug, who received a new liver from an organ donor in July 2000. Though Klug was in demand after the Salt Lake City Olympics, he opted to focus first on the Illinois Campaign.

"I knew I couldn't do it all, but I wanted to do something for Illinois since they had talked to me first and because that's where Walter Payton was from," Klug said.

Adelstein & Associates pitched the ad concept featuring Klug to Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White last January, before the snowboarder became a medalist. "Klug's winning the bronze medal provided a real-life Hollywood ending and communicates to a much larger audience how organ donation saves lives," said Eric Adelstein, president of Adelstein & Associates.

(The Chicago Sun-Times, April 29th, 2002)