Why Sandy Hook Promise went too far...
School shootings are a real fact of life that Americans need to face head on. They’ve been a reality since I was a kid, and are becoming an epidemic.
Originally, I was writing this as a response comment to a friend who posted the video, but it got long, and had some real points, which I thought were worth a whole blog post. Because this ad doesn't just raise awareness of school shootings, it also betrays the morality of how to raise awareness of issues... So if you’ll humor me this rant, I do want to talk about the fact that this advertisement was designed specifically to both instigate anger and produce terror... which I find inherently wrong. For context, watch the above YouTube video (warning, it contains content portraying a school shooting).
This ad takes everyday objects and shows how they might be used in horrific circumstances. I would expect that from entertainment like movies and TV shows, but not from an advertisement. It is, however, extremely effective in raising awareness of school shootings, I will grant that... because it uses product tropes the way no one has (or should, frankly), which is new and shocks the audience into real emotion. That’s really creative. The audience expects another bland commercial about more stuff, but they are suddenly plunged into a hunger-games-esque murder scenario... and this is jarring. It induces extreme emotion. It challenges our sense of security. Then we're forced to see what some kids have actually gone through. It's interesting because you can't produce the same results with movies or TV shows because we're all usually prepared to watch what we're about to watch. We use movies and media to escape from reality. Ads are part of our reality and seek to reach and represent the individual. Using an ad to produce this effect gives you the ability to truly catch the audience off guard because those kids represent our kids. It’s both a mockery of American consumerism and a slap in the face of our insistence on willful ignorance. So on a creative level, I can appreciate it, and believe it accomplishes what it sets out to do.
With the outrage culture of modern media, maybe Sandy Hook Promise feels this is the most effective way to get people’s attention. They are merely using the language of outrage which we're already primed to respond to. And this is a sad reality we also have to consider. But what does it say about our culture if even the benevolent institutions resort to fear-mongering and terrorizing in order to further their cause?
Often ads do point to disaster; they may show a scenario where the product saved a life... but usually the result emotion is relief or a sense of security for owning the product, not pure horror in which the product may be the only last connection point you have with your child who is facing certain death... they never go THIS far, because that would actually be evil. If crippling fear of death is how you advertise your products, you’ve got to be some sort of heartless monster...
This ad is not necessarily evil because it isn't selling products, but is actually trying to raise awareness, and points to itself as an organization which honors those who suffered, and offers counselling, information, and perhaps even viable solutions to the problem. I watched it a few times because of my outrage and in order to analyze it, which kept the issue of school shootings in the forefront of my mind. Then I looked at the website to see what on earth they were all about--to see if their cause was even good. I found helpful resources and felt a sense of duty to do something. In that sense, they did point to a good end, and probably got more results than they might have if I wasn't so incensed (sadly)...
But the end does not justify the means. The first watch produced instant tears, extreme horror, and then outrage at the consumerist way it goes about expressing the very real danger kids face. You could argue it even dishonors those who have experienced these events by placing emphasis on the objects themselves... for the sake of irony, or for making a point about how we need to be outraged to care (feel free to dispute that). You don't produce genuine concern by first insulting people. And the type of outrage it produces may inevitably sabotage the organization's end goal because the ad itself challenges the status quo of how advertising is and should be done... and not in a positive way.
What other ways will people now use ads to hurt or terrorize people, and steal peace from peoples' homes?
Furthermore, this is a traumatic piece! According to a news article, this ad plays on major TV networks and across digital platforms... This means there are people who will only watch it once and be stricken with grief and horror and fear. If this appeared on TV or as a YouTube ad, and I had kids who were watching, I would be TICKED. Home should be a place where kids can take refuge, where ads aren’t also terrorizing them. We shouldn't be terrorizing each other to raise awareness, even when there is a real threat to our kids' lives... This organization--of all people--should recognize that. Must we live in a culture where terrorism is accepted simply because it is used for good causes?
Inducing terror is the business of terrorists, and should not be the goal of the anti-terrorist.
