ITV2 has appointed a new celebrity "blood squad" this Halloween to help eliminate fears that surround blood donation and encourage people to give blood.
The campaign, in collaboration with NHS Blood and Transplant, first ran last year and prompted 31,000 people to register as blood donors – a 19% increase compared with the previous year, ITV2 said.
Following that success, the "Blood squad" campaign now returns with another 12 famous faces, including I’m a Celebrity: Extra Camp hosts Emily Atack and Joel Dommett, to encourage more young people to register and book an appointment at donation centres across England.
The 70-second ad features a raft of celebrities auditioning to be part of the squad, including Love Island’s Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague; Ibiza Weekender’s Jordan Davies and David Potts; musician Lady Leshurr and Dr Alex George.
Mike Stredder, director of blood donation at NHS Blood and Transplant said: "We need 400 people to register as new donors every day to maintain the blood supply for the best chance of keeping patients alive. For many reasons, it’s vital that young people continue to register and donate ndash; particularly young men – not least because older people become less likely to be able to donate blood."
Developed by ITV Creative, work will run on air, in cinema and across digital and social media from 17 October in the lead-up to Halloween.
Alex Mathieson, ITV2 creative director, added: "The response to last year’s ITV2 'Blood squad' campaign was overwhelming. This year, we knew we had to make it even bigger and better. So the idea of auditioning talent to grow the squad became the centrepiece for the campaign.
"It was so great to see so much ITV2 talent, both in front of the camera and behind, make the effort and give up their time for an incredible cause."
