Evan
Sandy Hook Promise
Issue 42 | March 2017
Agency
BBDO New York
Creative Team
CCO BBDO Worldwide David Lubars CCO BBDO New York Greg Hahn Creative Director Peter Alsante Art Director Martins Zelcs Copywriter Bryan Stokely
Production Team
Head of Integrated Production David Rolfe Group Executive Producer Julian Katz Production Company Smuggler Director Henry-Alex Rubin Editorial & Post Production Company NO6 Audio Production House Heard City
Other Credits
Account Director Lindsey Cash Planning Team Sean Stogner Alaina Crystal
Date
December 2016
Background
On December 14th 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, 20 year-old Adam Lanza shot dead 20 children and six of their teachers.
The parents of the victims founded the Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) in the belief that every act of gun violence is avoidable, especially if the signs are noticed.
Idea
An online film was made which told the story of high-school student Evan, who found himself engaged in a flirtatious conversation on a school desk as the school year wound down. But as the story reached its conclusion, it was revealed to the viewer that there had been a second story happening all along - a different student was in the background of each scene, planning a shooting.
In telling the story this way, something unrelatable (a school shooting) could be brought to life through something very relatable (an awkward teenage love story.)
Influencers and bloggers posted the film on their channels as if it was a touching love story making the final reveal all the more shocking for viewers.
Results
There were over 100 million views in the first week alone and the film was shared in over 133 countries. Furthermore, after only a week, the film had already been adopted as an education tool by countless schools, businesses, and even a government agency - all who have seen how it important it is to #knowthesigns.
Our Thoughts
This is a bit like the WCRS films for Transport for London https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4 in which most viewers fail to spot the bear or the scene changes. Similar but very different in take-out and effect.
It is very difficult not to wonder why a film like this needs to be made in the first place? America’s gun laws look completely insane to anyone outside America.
This film suggests it is the citizen’s duty to keep an eye open for potential killers in their midst. No it isn’t. Surely it is the government’s duty to keep its citizens free from harm?
Advertising provides a magic mirror into the very heart of a society. I hope that one day historians will look at this and be amazed that so many people unfit to carry weapons were allowed to do so.