In America, where thousands of kids are injured or killed each year by unlocked guns, the conversation about guns is dominated by polarizing activists. So in order to cut through the politics and bring people together, Evolve used common sense messaging and a tactic entirely foreign to gun safety ads: humor. Some TV/radio stations and print publications deemed the campaign’s humor too racy to run, which is why much of the campaign was released online. However, the content found a home on more entertainment-focused mediums like MTV Networks and The Village Voice newspaper.

The campaign was released online starting with the spot “Playthings”, followed by digital print, web banners and gifs, in addition to offline mediums such as magazine, OOH and radio. The bulk of the campaign was aimed at online audiences through YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, however, because the aim was to start a new conversation about gun safety, and there’s no better place to do that than social media.

The campaign was a tremendous success, with over 700MM impressions. The video went viral immediately with over 1MM views in its first two days and over 5MM in its first 30, equating to over $29MM in paid media, and became the most watched gun safety PSA in history. The campaign was picked up by top media outlets like Time, Forbes, Huffington Post and more, and its common sense message was applauded by both left and right-wing organizations, helping to start productive conversations about gun safety. Almost a year after its release, the campaign continues to generate healthy dialogue on social Networks.