Title	BREAK THE BARRIER
Brand	ST JOHN AMBULANCE WA
Product / Service	FIRST AID TRAINING
Category	A16. Public Service Messages and Charities
Entrant	THE BRAND AGENCY Perth, AUSTRALIA
Entrant Company	THE BRAND AGENCY Perth, AUSTRALIA
Advertising Agency	THE BRAND AGENCY Perth, AUSTRALIA
Production Company	THE PENGUIN EMPIRE Perth, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name	Company	Position
Craig Buchanan	The Brand Agency	Creative Director
Craig Buchanan	The Brand Agency	Creative
David Donald	The Brand Agency	Creative
Gemma Kay	The Brand Agency	Agency Producer
Holly Creasey	The Brand Agency	Account Director
Grant Sputore	The Penguin Empire	Director
Kelvin Munro	The Penguin Empire	Producer
Allan Myles	Allan Myles	DOP
Brad Habib	Soundbyte Studios	Sound Designer And Audio Engineer
Andrew Wright	Soundbyte Studios	Sound Designer
Dave Mcdonnell	Last Pixel	Vfx Artist
Angela Naaykens	The Brand Agency	Media Manager
Kate Brooks	The Brand Agency	Media Manager
Grant Sputore	The Penguin Empire	Editor

Brief Explanation

This ad is aimed at people who don't have first aid training, and shows how helpless this can make you feel. It is a highly emotional depiction of a parent's protective instincts for her child. The film shows a young child playing in a swimming pool until he hits his head and disappears underwater. In Australia, a high number of homes have pools so this is a common fear for parents. The boy's mother rushes to his aid, appearing to crawl across the surface of the water on an invisible barrier – a barrier which prevents her reaching her drowning child despite her desperate attempts to break through. The film lingers on the parent's increasing feeling of despair. The barrier is a metaphor for the mother's helplessness. It's confronting, but not as confronting as the thought that you could have helped to save a life.