TikTok, nostalgia drive major increase in American Red Cross blood donations

The American Red Cross is always trying new ways to increase blood donation, but apparently, all it took to drive up first-time donor rates was a new marketing approach that taps into some serious childhood nostalgia.

It’s all thanks to a new Snoopy T-shirt, which was made in partnership with the Peanuts brand, and features the beloved cartoon dog’s alter-ego “Joe Cool” on the front.

“Be Cool. Give Blood,” the T-shirt says as Snoopy leans against the iconic American Red Cross symbol.

Though it may not sound like much, the shirt is both adorable and retro, and the fact that it’s being handed out for free to anyone who donates blood between April 1 and April 23 has been piquing the interest of people all over TikTok.

In fact, users have been showing off the free swag in various TikToks for days now, which are quickly going viral and acting as something of a user-generated marketing campaign.

@fourr_eyess

The American Red Cross really popped off with this one #americanredcross #giveblood #fyp #joecool

♬ Berry Pie – Dolly Parton

“The American Red Cross really popped off with this one,” shared TikTok user @fourr_eyess while modeling the free tee she got from donating.

“listen, I’ve never once wanted to give blood, not once, but I do want that tee shirt so bad,” one commenter admitted.

“Snoopy singly handedly fixing the blood shortage,” added another.

“Imagine if they did collab with big artists like Taylor swift,” another person suggested, “they wouldn’t need to worry about blood for a while.”

“Seriously!” @fourr_eyess replied. “I hope they see a huge increase this month and realize we’ll do anything for cute merch.”

For the record, they certainly have.

“It’s been really great to see so many young folks so fired up by this particular partnership and realizing that maybe their fear of needles or other concerns aren’t as bad as what they thought they might be,” Darren Irby, the executive director of national brand partnerships at the Red Cross, told NBC News.

In fact, the Red Cross has been periodically tapping into the fandom angle in various ways for a few years now.

“Several years ago, we made the conscious decision to inspire new donors through the lens of their existing interests and their own passion points,” Irby shared. “We do this a few times a year, and it’s really made a difference.”

Other similar partnerships have been done with Game of Thrones and Wonder Woman 1984. But this time, Irby says the Red Cross reached out to Peanuts because of the “cross-generational appeal” that it has and believed its wide range of fans could make it even more popular.

Clearly, the strategy has paid off — especially with Gen Z.

TikTokers are saying the promise of a Snoopy shirt has made them get over their fear of needles.

Some have nearly fainted in their quest to get a Joe Cool tee.

But plenty of others have just proudly modeled the tee to show they’ve been successfully influenced.

@risky_em9

Donate blood! Save a life! Thanks @xochitlgrimm and @lagkilll for driving me home #snoopy #redcross #giveblood

♬ Wii Shop Channel Trap – OSRSBeatz
@juminhanswh0re

DONATE BLOOD AT RED CROSS FOR FREE SNOOPY SHIRT IM OBSESSED

♬ original sound – Karma Choki

According to Irby, the shirts have already sparked a noticeable uptick in donations.

“We’ve seen web traffic to our appointment page — since Monday, it is up 50% versus our six-month running averages,” he told NBC. “What’s really cool and speaks to the social aspect of this is that organic search is up 600% over the last couple of days.”

@mrs.frazzled

#ad Be Cool. Give Blood. Visit link in bio to donate now! (^and for the terms and conditions) #Snoopy #PEANUTS #americanredcrosspartner #giveblood @snoopy @americanredcross

♬ original sound – frazz

It’s safe to say that the partnership has already knocked it out of the park, but it sure will be interesting to see what the total number of donations is at the end of the campaign.

We also can’t stop thinking of what the Red Cross will do next — especially now that the nostalgia angle is clearly a win.

@erinfischerrrr_

Copying a titkok ive seen a million people make today 😭 #redcross #snoopy

♬ Blicky – Fresh X Reckless

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