Historically, piecemeal public-service ads have trod cautiously so as not to alienate a core constituency—gun owners themselves, some 30 percent of Americans. They’ve employed inconsistent strategies, sometimes urging gun owners to “lock it up,” other times decrying feeble government regulation. Mixed messages threaten to undercut the impact of these PSAs, and soft targets can make for mealymouthed calls to action. Thoughtful, measured arguments aren’t always the right fit for this medium, which usually requires a villain, like a Big Tobacco. “For us, that starts and stops with the NRA,” Sam Shepherd, the global executive creative director of Leo Burnett, told me.
Mac Schwerin
November 11, 2022
The Ad Industry’s Plan to Fix America’s Gun Crisis
[Interesting stuff in this article. It’s a look into the smartest minds of the enemy.
This at least partially explains the long time blame on the gun manufactures who “care more about profits than children’s lives.” The slogan writers know they need a villain and they have been trying out the NRA and the manufactures.
For some reason criminals as villains are not acceptable. Is it because criminal are their natural ally in the fight against private gun ownership? If the criminals did not exist there would not be a publicly defendable need to restrict gun ownership.—Joe]