The recently launched "gun safety" organization Evolve Together is out with a new television advertisement comparing the safe storage of sex toys to the storage of firearms.
Warning: explicit material.
Evolve Together is calling the TV spot "tongue-in-cheek" and an effort to use humor to promote gun safety. It will be released on cable and broadcast television networks and online.
“Our PSA is humorous, but the message is serious. Parents need to take ownership of safety in the house. If you don’t want kids to play with it, put it away - it’s up to you to keep your stuff locked up. We’re using humor to cut through political correctness and deliver a simple message. Americans can have a serious conversation about firearm safety that doesn’t devolve into a political abyss,” Evolve Together co-founder Rebecca Bond said in a statement.
“The idea is designed to make people laugh, and then think. Thoughtful conversations about gun safety are too rare, and we're hoping a little humor will break through that impasse,” Chief Creative Officer at McCann Erickson New York said about the ad.
An ad about sex toys is supposed to make us think about an issue as serious as proper firearm storage when kids are in the house? The ad isn't funny. In fact, it's immature. Instead of promoting safe storage of firearms, it does the opposite by trivializing a serious issue.
If you want serious tips and conversation about proper gun storage (which isn't rare despite Evolve Together's claims), take a look at the National Shooting Sports Foundation's real gun safety storage campaign Project Child Safe.
Project ChildSafe is a nationwide program that promotes safe firearms handling and storage practices among all firearm owners through the distribution of safety education messages and free firearm Safety Kits. The kits include a cable-style gun-locking device and a brochure (also available in Spanish) that discusses safe handling and storage. Since 2003, the Project has partnered with local law enforcement agencies to distribute more than 36 million safety kits to gun owners in all 50 states and five U.S. territories.
Project ChildSafe's success is attributable to law enforcement, elected officials, community leaders, state agencies, businesses, the firearms industry and individuals who have worked to help raise awareness about the importance of securely storing firearms in the home.
The issue of real gun safety isn't a laughing matter or a punchline.
UPDATE: Evolve Together prides itself on being "anti-dumbass." The irony is too much.
Hi @KatiePavlich thanks for the share. To clarify- we're not anti-gun - we're anti-dumbass ;) we believe that safety is not a side!
— EVOLVE (@Evolve_Us) June 26, 2014