British Heart Foundation: 'Hard and Fast Hands-Only CPR'

[Written January 2012]

(Agency: Grey London; Air date: 16/12/11; Length: 45 seconds)

Footballer-turned-actor Vinnie Jones channels the spirits of Big Chris and Bullet-Tooth Tony (from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, respectively) for his role as the cockney gangster in the new British Heart Foundation TV advert for hands-only CPR. The ad, produced by Grey London, features Jones’ hard man, backed up by two henchmen, explaining to us that, despite what we’ve been told, there should be ‘no kissing’ when performing CPR, because ‘you only kiss your missus on the lips’. Instead, it’s getting the speed and strength of the chest compressions right which is important.

In order to demonstrate, Jones’ cronies retrieve a ‘volunteer’ from the back of a lorry, recently deprived of the ability to breath by our boys, and slide him across the floor, cartoon-style, to Jones, who declares, ‘Here’s one I made earlier’, in best Blue Peter fashion. First, we’re told to dial 999, then to push hard and fast in the middle of the patient’s chest to the beat of the Bee Gees ‘Stayin’ Alive’. Jones then pumps the chest of his volunteer/victim as the tune’s chorus plays, raising his shaven head to the camera and giving the viewer a cheeky grin, while his leather-jacketed henchmen nod their heads in the background, stony-faced. No sooner is the volunteer/victim resuscitated, than Jones slaps him down to the floor again, and we are reminded what to do: call 999, then push hard and fast to ‘Stayin’ Alive’, finally being told hands-only CPR is ‘not as hard as it looks’. The final shot is of Jones glancing down at his volunteer/victim with a menacing look in his eyes, suggesting the poor bloke probably won’t be breathing for much longer.

The BHF have succeeded in making a really funny ad which is entertaining and also gets its message across to the viewer. According to this article in the Huffington Post, the BHF say people are reluctant to perform the kiss of life for various reasons, including a lack of knowledge, fear of infection, or even being sued for performing it incorrectly, hence the ‘no kissing’ advice. Instead, for people untrained in CPR, it is best to forget the kiss of life altogether and focus on performing hard chest compressions, which are apparently best done at 110-120 beats per minute, which, by a happy coincidence, is the same BPM of the aptly titled ‘Stayin’ Alive’.

Performing chest compressions to ‘Stayin’ Alive’ has been advised in the past (along with ‘Nellie the Elephant’), but using the track in this ad was an astute move as it’s a well-known, catchy tune that will have viewers’ tapping their toes or singing along, helping to make the instructions memorable, should anyone actually find themselves in the unfortunate situation where they need to perform the procedure. It also makes for the wonderful comic image of three hard-as-nails gangsters getting down to the Bee Gees. Jones is well-cast as the brute in the suit, which he plays with relish, and I particularly enjoy the blink-and-you-miss-it moment after he advises us to call 999, where he looks up at the camera, aggrieved, and mutters ‘I know’ under his breath, playfully acknowledging that calling the emergency services is the last thing a gangster would do. The use of a criminal underworld theme wouldn’t be what one would expect in an advert for a charity aiming to save people’s lives, but Grey London have made it work.