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.