Ad of the Month - April 2010

St John Ambulance "Lives Lost" (click to view)

In a month of noisy election communications, this quiet but powerful print campaign by BBH for St John Ambulance is the charity's first campaign in 20 years.

Sometimes, an ad uses a lot of space to focus attention on the product or brand. In this case, the space and the unusual black and white photo not only stop us in our tracks as we flick through the paper, but they reflect the "deadly still" of someone who's just died - unnecessarily, as those around them didn't know basic first aid.

In the middle of the pre-election clamour, this quieter approach actually seems to gain more attention for the subject than shouting loud with big type or dramatic pictures of an accident.

The other unusual point about this campaign is that the charity is not specifically asking for money - it's offering first aid knowledge, not only training or free guides, but also via an app on your i-phone - what a good idea!

NB Remember that when you look at a press ad online, the text is generally smaller than when it appeared in the newspaper.

St John Ambulance website
https://www.sja.org.uk/sja/support-us/the-difference/get-a-free-first-aid-guide.aspx