A bunch of Dutch producers managed to get people's panties in a wad this week when they announced they were airing a show where contestants would vie to get a dying woman's kidneys. It turns out, it was a hoax.The Big Donor Show aired last night in The Netherlands, where producers revealed their entire ploy was to put pressure on the Dutch government to raise awareness of the need for organ donation. The show did air, but just to prove a point. The woman, "Lisa", who was supposedly dying of brain cancer (but not really) interviewed potential candidates for her kidneys. Some Dutch viewers said the show was an eye-opening experience, because it explained just how hard it is in The Netherlands for someone to actually receive a donated organ (Dutch rules tend to favor family or friends only). The contestants who took part in the show were really in need of kidneys, but they were all in on the "joke" ahead of time.
Only time will tell whether this ploy just pissed people off, or if it had an actual impact.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-02-2007 @ 12:00PM
John said...
About 18.000 people downloaded the donor forms on fridaynight and another 12.000 people SMS'ed for it...
The site actually couldn't handle the number of visitors (75.000) on friday.
Problem is that it might have been an impuls that triggered people to download the forms. They have to send them in and confirm their wishes after six weeks.
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Source (in Dutch):
http://www.nu.nl/news/1098854/50/18.000_mensen_downloaden_donorformulier.html
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6-02-2007 @ 6:04PM
Jasper said...
Amazing, however it does say something about the current state of television that people actually people such a show is possible.
Oh, and can anyone imagine this type of guerrilla tv-making in the States?
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