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Talking resuscitation puppet Resus Andy fronts new content series for Take Heart Australia

A talking resuscitation doll stars in a new online content campaign aimed at getting more people to learn CPR to help slash the number of deaths from sudden heart attacks each year.

The campaign, created by PR agency Hill+Knowlton Strategies for Take Heart Australia, stars comedienne Tegan Higginbotham alongside the mannequin Resus Andy to tell everyday Australians what they have to do to change the dismal statistics around sudden cardiac arrest.

Resus Andy is operated by puppeteer Heath McIvor, best known as the hand behind Randy Feltface of Sammy J and Randy in Ricketts Lane.

Written and directed by H+K’s head of content Nick Snelling, the videos are running across Take Heart Australia’s social media channels and will be seeded online and pushed out through owned, earned and paid platforms in the lead-up to the charity’s big event on Take Heart Australia Day (Monday, November 30).

H+K managing director Penelope Holloway said in a statement: “We wanted to come up with something that would both amuse everyday Aussies, but also galvanise them into action. The fact is, the stats around Sudden Cardiac Arrest are woeful for a supposedly developed nation.

“Each year in Australia, around 30,000 people experience a SCA. The shocking reality is only 9-10 per cent survive. Now, compare that figure with a city like Seattle where over 60 per cent of people survive. Why? Because three-quarters of their population are trained in CPR.

“That means Australia has a major problem: every year, up to 12,000 people of all ages are dying who really don’t have to.”

Professor Paul Middleton, THA founder and clinical associate professor of emergency medicine at University of Sydney said in a statement: “I cannot thank H+K enough for coming up with this idea and then executing it the way they have. Not only is Resus Andy very very funny, he’s carrying an important message that all Aussies need to hear.

“We think he’s going to be a great way to get people to sit up and pay attention. Plus, the kids love him… even if he does scare the adults a little.”

 

Credits:

  • Executive Producer: Hill+Knowlton Strategies Australia for TAKE HEART AUSTRALIA
  • Starring: Resus Andy & Tegan Higginbotham
  • Writer/Director: Nicholas Snelling
  • Additional writing: Heath McIvor & Tegan Higginbotham
  • Director of Photography/Editor/Sound Design: Shayne Cantly Evolution Studios –
  • www.evolutionstudios.com.au
  • Music: Shayne Cantly & Dale Reubens
  • Hair & Make-up: Dempsey Rei
  • Filmed at VNR Studios, Surry Hills, Sydney: www.vnr.com.au

 

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