Guy Cotten: Hold Your Breath

Credits & Description:

Client: Guy Cotten
Product: Marine Security Gear - Lifejackets
Entrant: Clm Bbdo Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Title: Hold Your Breath
Product/Service: Marine Security Gear - Lifejackets
Entrant Company: Clm Bbdo Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Advertising Agency: Clm Bbdo Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Executive Creative Director: Matthieu Elkaim (Bbdo Paris)
Creative Director: Eric Pierre (Clm Bbdo)
Creative: Charles Dessaux (Clm Bbdo)
Creative: Emile Martin (Clm Bbdo)
Creative: James Gebler (Clm Bbdo)
Creative: Fiona Parkin (Clm Bbdo)
Account Manager: Romain Bruneau (Clm Bbdo)
Art Director Charles Dessaux Fiona Parkin
Copywriter James Gebler Émile Martin
Creative Director Eric Pierre
Executive Creative Director Matthieu Elkaim
Advertising Agency CLM BBDO
The average time a person can remain underwater before they inhale water and lose consciousness is 87 seconds (though of course this varies according to the individual and the situation). We wrote the copy so that it took around 87 seconds to read in full. The headline invites people to read the ad while holding their breath and the copy is a detailed account of what it’s like to drown at sea. All together the effect of reading the ad while trying not to breath is a visceral and poignant reminder of what the consequences of not wearing a lifejacket could be.