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.

The Teddy Gun campaign video, a mini-documentary, featured a narrative of the Teddy Gun campaign—from the concept to the manufacture—documenting various live Teddy Gun exhibitions across Illinois.

Since ICHV is a nonprofit with limited funds for paid media, we posted the videos organically on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, relying on the power of the idea to generate earned views and press coverage.

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 media impressions from publications like Upworthy, Chicago Tribune and Huffington Post, 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.