Resuscitation Council UK partners with Brentford FC in Pablo campaign

The initiative is designed to raise awareness of how to give CPR

By creative salon

25 October 2022

There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK every year, and every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by ten per cent.

Recent research found that 74% of people have learned how to perform CPR – but sadly, this life saving skill is one of the first aid measures that people feel least confident performing (44%). This is in part due to a lack of understanding of how (and if) to perform CPR as well as having the confidence to act.

With this in mind, Resuscitation Council UK came to Pablo with a vital brief: give people the confidence to act quickly by getting the tools of CPR into the hands of as many people as possible, and save lives.

CPR was thrust into the spotlight last year during the shocking events of the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, where Danish soccer player Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field due to cardiac arrest during the opening game.

Eriksen survived, partly because of the swift performance of CPR in response. Unfortunately, Eriksen was not the first football player to have captured the headlines with cardiac health becoming an increasing focus for the football community over the years.

That moment in the Euros , whilst shocking, highlighted the stark fact that in the UK survival rates for out of hospital cardiac arrest remains stubbornly low, with fewer than one in ten people surviving. CPR is one of the core reasons why people are uncertain and dont take action. We wanted to find a way to give people the confidence to act in such a situation and find a way to support the sporting community and its fans.

In response Pablo creatives, Charlie Gee and Tian Murphy created a tool that would do just that. Introducing the CPQR code, a QR code that directs people to a short video that teaches CPR in under 2 minutes. Like the Breast Cancer Ribbon, or the Remembrance Poppy, the CPQR code is an emblem that can be used by anyone and everyone who wants to raise awareness for the importance of learning CPR. But the CPQR code is an emblem with a twist: its very design holds the information needed to learn how to save a life. Resuscitation Council UK launched the code in August, with an OOH campaign across the nation.

This October, for Restart a Heart Week, Resuscitation Council UK and other leading charities have partnered with Brentford FC (the club that Eriksen signed for only 7 months after the incident at UEFA Euro 2020) to shine a light on this vital life saving skill.

On 19 October, in the Premier League game against Chelsea FC, Brentford FC launched the CPQR code on Brentford FC players’ shirts. The code also featured on the screens around the Gtech Community Stadium, on the Club’s digital platforms and on the cover of the matchday programme. In addition to this, Brentford FC first team players Mads Roerslev and Kane Lewis-Potter filmed their own instructional video which is live on social media.

The game aired on Amazon Prime and the in-stadium activity also involved live CPR demos before the game and during the half-time break. After the game, the players’ shirts featuring the CPQR code will go on auction to help fund innovative treatment, equipment and research at Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity, one of the largest heart and lung specialist centres in the world.

The code is a free, open tool and the more brands that get on board and use this emblem, the more lives that could potentially be saved. Resuscitation Council UK will provide any brand with an interest in using this emblem with a unique and trackable code - so any brand wanting to make use of this can track the impact they’re having too. The activity follows on the back of the campaign to teach younger audiences CPR with Sex Education’s Connor Swindells.

Jon Varney, Chief Executive of Brentford FC said: “Cardiac health is an issue that is very important to us and to our local community. By putting the heart-shaped ‘CPQR code’ front and centre on our shirts for this match, we are able to use our platform to help teach the basics of CPR. We are urging our fans and those watching to take two minutes to learn the basic skills that could be the difference between a friend or family member surviving a cardiac arrest.”

James Cant, Chief Executive at Resuscitation Council UK said: “When somebody goes into cardiac arrest they are effectively clinically dead, and bystanders need to act quickly and confidently to give them the best chance of survival. This is why it’s crucial that as many people as possible learn the basics of CPR. Our mission is to get the CPQR code into common use, from bus stops, to black cabs, to the back of cereal boxes. Getting the CPQR code into the hands of the nation will give people the tools to help save a life.”

Dan Watts and Tim Snape, Executive Creative Directors at Pablo, said “The key to this work is its simplicity. The CPQR code can live anywhere, and is so easy to use. We hope brands around the UK pick it up and run with it."