3 Things The Viral "Sandy Hook Promise" Ad Taught Me About Advertising

1. Relay the message. Use advertising if necessary.

In advertising, message is king.

Everything depends on it.

Sand Hook Promise has a solid message and I believe this is what made all the difference.

“No cares to see the signs of gun violence.”

Banking on this solid brand message, they were able to conjure a mind-blowing ad that relays it.

Indeed, no one could care to see the signs of gun violence because we are so busy in our own little fantasy world.

Heartbreak only comes after the effects of gun violence had finally been realized.

2. If the message is powerfully relayed, it becomes a solid ground for the call to action to stand on.

“Gun violence can be prevented. Sandy Hook’s advocacy is to help us read the signs.”

Some ads fail to relay the message with enough clarity and impact that sometimes, even the message has to be “explained”. This shouldn’t be the case.

The message itself must be relayed clearly and powerfully enough so that it becomes a solid ground for the call to action to stand on.

When a message is relayed clearly, the audience themselves voluntarily clamor for the call to action or “What’s next?” on their own.

When this happens, the call to action is anticipated not contrived.

3. You can use an entirely different ad as a springboard for the “real” ad.

Sandy Hook’s ad tried to hook its audience into a story which was enchanting and exciting on its own – only to find out that that was not the “real” story it was trying to tell.

And then during the resolution part, I told myself “Yeah, I didn’t see that.” – which was exactly the point!

“No cares to see the signs of gun violence.” 

After feeling a little bit bad about myself, the ad itself offered a solution through the call to action part which was what Sandy Hook Promise is all about – reading the signs of gun violence everywhere and helping them prevent it.

Sandy Hook Promise is a non-profit organization in the US which was led by some of the family members of the victims of the shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School last December 14, 2012.

Learn more about the organization by clicking here.

More power to Sandy Hook Promise and BBDO New York!

Watch the ad below.