Social media has made much of the difference in between the numbers of deaths cause by terrorists and deaths caused by children in the US (vastly more by children), but it seems as though the message about the dangers of America’s gun laws have not sunk in.
“Toddlers gun down American citizens on a weekly basis,” the Brady Campaign said in its statement. “The satirical PSA cites headline after headline highlighting the problem, and demanding action from policymakers to address America’s toddler problem. “It’s time we did something. We need to lock them up. Not the guns – that’s just un-American. The toddlers. Round them up. Deport them. Get them out of our country. And keep them away from our guns.
“That’s because the problem is bigger than just toddlers. As politicians entertain radical and ineffective proposals to combat terrorism, they wholly ignore (and at times enable) the gun violence that kills scores of Americans on a daily basis. In fact, more Americans will die from gun violence today than have been killed by terrorists in years.”
McCann New York is helping the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence make the point with a satirical campaign that demonises toddlers with guns.
A montage of doomsday-style headlines is set between images of littlies with guns, underscored by effectively sinister music.
Tragically, the headlines, Woman Shot and Killed by Three-Year-Old Son, Toddler Shoots Parents After Finding Gun and Toddler Shoots 9-Year-Old Sister With Gun Found on Dresser are based on those of real publications such as the Washington Post, Time, The New York Times and The Guardian. All the information in the ad comes from real world data.
Ironically – as well as effectively – humour is used in the campaign website, to make people pay attention to the seriousness of the issue.
Visitors can find information on where toddlers are in your hood. Another section promises to provide info on drop-off sites, where parents can turn in their toddlers “no questions asked.”
There are also serious links to where visitors can petition to demand background checks for all gun purchases and a Gun Reform Fact Checker that details the real facts about gun control. The Where does your representative stand? Section is, of course, pro-Clinton – it uses the presidential candidates’ own words to answer the question.
The aim of the PSA is to encourage Americans vote in November for leaders who support common sense gun reform.
“It’s time we did something. We need to lock them up. Not the guns – that’s just un-American. The toddlers. Round them up. Deport them. Get them out of our country. And keep them away from our guns.”
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign, stated, “If our elected leaders are really concerned about protecting Americans from violence, they should start with armed and dangerous toddlers.
“This PSA is satire. But the public health crisis it calls attention to is anything but. Whether the trigger is pulled by a toddler, a convicted felon, domestic abuser, or terrorist, we have a problem in America with guns too easily falling into the wrong hands. And that translates to hundreds of lives lost or changed forever every single day. The fact is that we can prevent so many of these tragedies just by keeping guns out of the hands of the people we all agree shouldn’t have them. We get the absolute importance of keeping us all safe against terrorism. But any politician who says they care about that, and then ignores the real things we can do to make us all safer by keeping guns out of the wrong hands, is nothing short of a hypocrite…
“…Thank you to our brilliant friends at McCann for dedicating their time and creativity to produce this PSA. When more than a century’s worth of creative talent meets life-saving activism, it’s no surprise the final product is pretty great. I have no doubt this project will get people talking about how we make America the better, safer nation we all want and deserve
