What do baseball, bubble gum and saving lives have in common? A whole lot, thanks to a powerful new partnership that hit it out of the park at Citi Field!
On August 1, during the San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets game, fans got more than just peanuts and Cracker Jacks—they got the chance to become real-life heroes. Gift of Life Marrow Registry, in collaboration with Labcorp and DOUBLEMINT® officially launched its Hero Gum donor registration campaign.
It’s exactly what it sounds like: gum that helps save lives. This first-of-its-kind donor registration kit turns a five-minute chewing session into a chance to join the stem cell and marrow registry. With each chew, Mets fans were taking the first step toward potentially curing blood cancer and diseases like leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell.
The in-stadium activation was the first large-scale public rollout of the Hero Gum kits, and Citi Field provided the perfect backdrop thanks to the long association of gum with America’s pastime – from players chewing on the field to fans collecting bubble gum trading cards. Since 2004, the Mets and Gift of Life have teamed up to help fight blood cancer—and this latest effort brought the mission right into the heart of the action.
In a pregame ceremony, Gift of Life was honored on the field as “Nonprofit of the Game” with [pictured l – r] adam&eveDDB Executive Director Alan Perlman, adam&eveDDB Executive Creative Director Jason Ashlock, Gift of Life COO Marti Freund, and Gift of Life Founder and CEO Jay Feinberg.
Throughout the game, fans visited the Gift of Life booth, where they got the scoop on how donor registration works—and how simple it really is. A vibrant animated video on the Jumbotron drove the message home, sharing a sobering stat: only 30% of patients can find a matching donor in their own families. The other 70%are counting on strangers to step up.
“Bringing Hero Gum to Citi Field gave us an incredible platform to connect with thousands of fans in a fun and meaningful way,” said Gift of Life’s COO Marti Freund. “This kind of visibility is invaluable in sparking conversations, building awareness and inspiring people to take that first step toward saving a life.”
Hero Gum is more than just a clever idea—it’s the latest innovation from Gift of Life, an organization that has been revolutionizing donor engagement since it introduced cheek swabs back in 2001. The gum kits are safe, simple, and perfect for on-the-go events—think music festivals, college campuses and community centers.
Created with the help of creative agency adam&eveDDB New York and the talented animators at Unsaid Studio, the campaign is all about breaking down barriers and making it easier (and honestly, more fun) for younger and more diverse groups of people to get involved.
Now that Hero Gum has made its stadium debut, you don’t need a game ticket to join in. You can get your own kit online and start chewing your way into the registry: www.giftoflife.org/herogum.