Evolve are back, with their tongue in cheek promotion of gun safety. Just like in Playthings (& print) and The Bill of Rights for Dumbasses, this commercial from Evolve wants to disarm you with humor - if you pardon the pun.
Now Hollywood star Josh Lucas acts as the spokesperson, walking through small town Americana being superbly patriotic and apple-pie with every skip, all the while asking you, dear gun owner to “Clear It. Check it. Lock it.”. Lucas thanks you for "being an American who does not leave your firearm in the couch cushions, or on a ledge above the playpen".
The ad is clearly targeting responsible gun owners, and hoping they'll find the humor appealing enough to share the clip with... irresponsible gun owners?
“We need to make safety aspirational and free of finger-wagging. We need to get to a place where we’re talking about gun safety before someone gets hurt, rather than after,” says Rebecca Bond, Co-Founder of Evolve. “If we’re going to get America talking, we have to talk about it a way that people can hear and that’s what this campaign is all about. We’ve created an ad that could run during the Super Bowl. It talks to America in a way that is apolitical, non-judgmental and entertaining.”
Rebecca Bond, the co-founder of Evolve, used to work in PR. Her soundbyte skills are super-bowlian. The PR outreach is sidestepping any political divide - or at least attempting to - by reaching out to all media and of course gun magazines and avoiding the second amendment discussion by simply stating they're "pro-alive kid.". The website for Evolve has been revamped as well, and Evolve wants Americans to help make history in the next 30 days by signing a petition at www.evolveusa.com advocating for the official designation of "National Gun Safety Day".
Will this tactic work? While it is quite entertainingly funny, it still feels a little like we're preaching to the converted. Even with Josh Lucas wrapping himself up in the American flag after saving it from burning on a BBQ. We can only hope the message sticks with those people who leave guns lying around the playpen.
Client: Evolve
Founders: Jon and Rebecca Bond
Ad agency : Erwin Penland
Chief Creative Officer: Con Williamson
Directed by Simon Cole
Production: B-Reel Films
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