Vinnie Jones - Hands Only CPR
Probably the cleverest ad campaign we’ve seen in a long time, the British Heart foundation have launched their ‘Hard and Fast Hands-Only CPR’ campaign to inform members of the public that they CAN perform CPR regardless of any formal first aid training.
The aim of the ad is to give ordinary members of the public the confidence to carry out CPR when necessary without the need to perform mouth to mouth. According to the BHF, using chest compressions correctly can be more effective than attempting mouth-to-mouth with poor technique, allowing those who haven’t had any formal training the power to potentially save lives.
Those clever people at BHF discovered that by compressing the chest to the tune of Stayin’ Alive allows you to compress the chest at the desired 110 to 120 beats per minute needed to get blood circulating around the body during those vital few minutes before an ambulance crew can arrive.
The campaign came as a result of a poll which found that half of the 2,000 surveyed we’re put off helping people because of a lack of knowledge on CPR, a fifth of which were most worried about mouth-to-mouth through fear of catching diseases and some which were concerned about the repercussions of getting sued through having improper training.
Using hard man Vinnie Jones as the voice of the campaign, the ad comprises of the following key points:
- Call 999 – THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO
- Check the persons breathing
- Hands only CPR; no kissing – you only kiss your misses on the lips
- Lock your fingers together with your knuckles up – right on the sovereign
- Push down 5-6cm (about 2 inches in old money) to the beat of Stayin’ Alive.
- Push hard – better a cracked rib than him kicking the bucket
The BHF hopes the ad will stick in the public’s head so that they will know how to act in these circumstances. We think this is absolute genius, but what do you think? Has this ad given you the confidence to save a life if necessary? Leave us a comment – we’d love to hear your thoughts!