LONDON -- Viewers who tuned into this past Sunday’s episode of Downton Abbey in the U.K. saw the premiere of a rather startling advertisement for St. John Ambulance, a London-based organization that teaches people how to perform first aid. (Watch the spot before reading further--there’s a twist).
Created by agency BBH London and directed by Benito Montorio of Blink Productions, the spot, which is the centerpiece of a new Helpless-themed campaign, begins on a grim note, with a man visiting a doctor who informs him that he has cancer. We observe as the man shares the devastating diagnosis with his wife, and then the battle against the disease commences.