Vinnie Jones fronts memorable campaign that could save thousands of lives
Vinnie Jones is currently fronting a very creative marketing campaign which uses intelligent insight into the reluctance of carrying out full cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
If the first reactions are anything to go by, the marketing campaign will be a great success and could result in thousands of lives being saved per year.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) have began a nationwide campaign to encourage members of the public, if faced with a person who has collapsed and appears not to be breathing, to at the very least attempt chest compressions (Hands-Only CPR). The foundation have released a TV advert where celebrity Vinnie Jones (famous for his tough man image) demonstrates their clear message, push hard and fast when performing CPR to help save someone’s life.
Jones is a supporter and campaigner of many heart related charities, helping to raise awareness across the UK. The actor’s wife, Tanya Jones, became seriously ill 24 years ago while pregnant and had to have a heart transplant. Jones fronts a campaign which is close to the 25 year mark since his wife received her heart transplant. At a quarter of a century Tanya will beat the longest EVER recorded survivor of a new heart, which is just short of 25 years.
According to the BHF the ‘gold standard’ still remains alternating chest compressions with mouth to mouth resuscitation but people who haven’t been trained often panic and don’t know what to do when someone collapses, therefore the foundation are focusing their campaign around using only chest compressions when performing CPR.
The idea of this marketing campaign is to give the public the confidence to help and the TV advert achieves this by putting across a very clear message delivered by a very memorable character.
Vinnie keeps his advice simple and adds in some humour by pushing “hard and fast” to the tempo of the Bee Gees’ hit Stayin’ Alive. The rationale behind the campaign is if a person is not trained then they might not feel able or willing to do mouth to mouth and, on their own regular firm chest compressions can save lives.
An estimated 30,000 people a year have a cardiac arrest in public and fewer than one in ten survive. Only around a third receive potentially life saving resuscitation from a bystander.
Claire O’Neill from the British Heart Foundation commented on the campaign:
“It is the difference between life and death, the nature of cardiac arrest is such that it needs a very prompt treatment… pressing hard and fast in the centre of the chest when they realise someone isn’t breathing with ambulance service coming behind will give that person the best chance of surviving.”
A nurse from the BHF shows how to perform CPR (Full & Hands-Only) >>
