What comes to mind when you picture the world’s biggest asshole?

Maybe it’s a guy peeing into a beer bottle while driving, throwing said urine-filled bottle out the window, grinning as it crashes and splashes on a car behind him. Or maybe he’s the creepy guy with a bumper sticker that reads “Caution! I can go from 0 to horny in 2.2 beers” tacked to the back of his pick up truck.

According to a new campaign for Donate Life from The Martin Agency that person, that enormous asshole, is Coleman F. Sweeney. In life, Mr. Sweeney, played by actor Thomas Jane, exhibits all of the worst characteristics of a person. After he dies, one action amidst a lifetime of being a jerk turns him into a hero. But how?

“You could live your entire life as an asshole, but if you did one good thing, make that one good thing donating your organs when you’re no longer with us. [The idea] seemed pretty simple,” Wade Alger, group creative director for The Martin Agency, said.

One of the main motivators behind the new work is to encourage millennial men to become organ donors, as that demographic has dropped off in recent years. Overall there are currently 120,000 men, women and children waiting for a organ donation, and roughly 8,000 of those people, about 22 per day, die each year because they won’t receive the organs they need in time. By signing up, a millennial could save as many as 50 lives.

The Martin Agency felt one of the best ways to capture the attention of young men in the U.S. was through a bit of crude humor (did you catch that lovely car accessory dangling from the back of Sweeney’s car?) and crass language, hence the “World Biggest Asshole” campaign title. All parties who worked on the campaign weren’t really worried about offending any viewers though.

“I think everyone knew it was the right way to talk to this group. The realization was that while I might not agree with the language in this, I’m not the target and therefore I can get over it,” Alger added.

The Martin Agency first got involved with Donate Life, an organization that aims to raise awareness about organ donation, through managing director, account management, Chris Mumford. Mumford developed a personal relationship with the organization after his brother passed in 2008 after suffering a massive heart attack.

“After a few months on an artificial heart, he received a heart transplant. Unfortunately, he died unexpectedly shortly after his transplant. But the prospects of a transplant gave my brother and all of us hope … and ultimately allowed us an extra six months with him. We are forever grateful for the opportunity we were given by his donor,” Mumford said.

After finding a cause that the team was passionate about, The Martin Agency then teamed up with Furlined about doing a project together. The 18-month timeline kicked in while searching for a time when Furlined directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon could donate their time to create the spot. The team also had to factor in Jane’s schedule, as well as Will Arnett’s, the ad’s narrator.

Alger said he knew the spot, while cheeky and a bit crude at times, was something special because of the number of people willing to donate their time to pull the project off. “It was really great. I’m glad that the world finally gets to meet the world’s biggest asshole,” Alger said.

CREDITS

Agency: The Martin Agency

Chief Creative Officer: Joe Alexander

Copywriter: Wade Alger

Copywriter: David Vogeleer

Copywriter: Brig White

Copywriter: Miranda Morgan

Designer: Will Godwin

Senior Digital Producer: Jill McGrath

Broadcast Producer: Steve Humble

Managing Director, Account Management: Chris Mumford

Account Director: Audyn O’Rourke

Account Executive: Cori Kaylor

Account Executive: Carter Crenshaw

Production Business Manager: Karen Taylor

Group Project Management Supervisor: Danielle Cin

Production Company: Furlined

Director: Speck + Gordon

President/Executive Producer: Diane McArter

Senior Executive Producer: David Thorne

Executive Producer: Jay Wakefield

Line Producer: Greg Schultz

Director Of Photography: Jeff Cutter

Production Designer: Andrew Reznik

Editorial: Cut & Run

Editor: Graham Turner

Executive Producer, Editorial: Carr Schilling

Color & VFX: The Mill

Colorist: Adam Scott

Executive Producer, Color: Thatcher Peterson

Lead Flame Artist: Robin McGloin

Additional 2d Artist: Don Kim

VFX Producer: Jordan Sharon

VFX Supervisor: Tim Davies

Production Coordinator: Pat DeVaney

Sound Design: Lime Studios

Sound Designer: Jeff Malen

Executive Producer, Sound: Susie Boyajan

Music: Duotone

Managing Director: David Leinheardt

Executive Creative Directors: Jack Livesey & Peter Nashel

Executive Producer: Ross Hopman

Producer: Giovonni Lobato

Composed By: Coldplay

Arranged By: Ross Hopman & Jordan Lieb

Performed By: Civil Brother

Starring:

As “Coleman Sweeney” – Thomas Jane

Voice Over by Will Arnett