Teddy bear manufacturers are required to follow incredibly strict safety regulations—unless, of course, the teddy bear is a gun. Introducing Teddy Gun. Created to shine a light on the nonsensical lack of government oversight on the gun industry, Teddy Gun became a tragic, ironic, powerful symbol of the disproportionate lack of regulation that contributes to the senseless deaths of over 30,000 people per year. We used Teddy Gun to ignite a groundswell of outrage and political pressure for common sense gun laws.

Teddy Gun was developed to start conversation and put pressure on Congress, so every execution and placement needed to do the same.

We began by seeding the campaign announcement with national media. Immediate coverage helped build awareness and credibility at launch. It sparked conversation about gun regulations and led people to TeddyGun.com. There, a state selector tool allowed you to tweet directly to your representative in your district, putting direct pressure on your exact legislators.

We then brought Teddy Gun to the real world to further the conversation. A Teddy Gun installation, which compared teddy bear and Teddy Gun regulations, appeared in places near senators and representatives in Illinois and Washington DC. Chicago media came out in droves to cover the traveling exhibits.

Finally, we generated national coverage and conversation by sharing a documentary-style film.

Teddy Gun did what all the headlines and news coverage on the gun violence epidemic couldn’t: It stopped people in their tracks, moved them, and motivated them to take action—to put pressure on Congress for more common sense gun laws. With over 135 million earned impressions following the introduction video, and a total earned media value of $2.62MM, ICHV achieved new levels of awareness and engagement. Due to this success, the Teddy Gun exhibit is touring and impacting communities beyond the launch. And now an ICHV-supported bill is gaining unprecedented momentum in the state legislature.