The British Heart Foundation (BHF) had no intention of advertising during the Euro 2020 football tournament but the issue of CPR became headline news during Denmark’s opening game versus Finland. The world witnessed the collapse of footballer Christian Eriksen and
the work of those who performed life-saving treatment on the pitch.
Most people, however, don’t have highly trained medical support teams immediately on hand, meaning that fewer than one in 10 people in the UK survives a cardiac arrest. The BHF created an ad to run during the following Denmark game, just three days later. "The ad we never expected to make" used the context of Eriksen’s collapse (but didn’t refer directly to it), with a voiceover from former footballer Vinnie Jones about why knowing CPR could make a difference.
Its message: "help save lives by learning CPR" was amplified across social media by people who included famous footballing names, such as David Seaman. Visits to the BHF’s website increased significantly and the ad was seen by 1.6 million viewers.
Judges said this was a "reactionary piece of communications, achieving a great reach in a short amount of time and in the right channel". They praised the "remarkable results" and said the campaign demonstrated what collaboration in the industry can achieve.
Silver:
"Toast & Jam" by Goodstuff Communications for Yorkshire Tea
Bronze:
"Bringing the past back to life" by the7stars for Ancestry