Los Angeles aims to curb gun violence with ‘Louder Than Guns’ OOH campaign
Gun violence is an ongoing issue in the US, and Los Angeles is calling attention to the continuing problem with a city-wide campaign.
Louder Than Guns campaign in Los Angeles
LA mayor Eric Garcetti’s office and his Youth Council to End Gun Violence (MYCEGV), in partnership with LA creative agency, Omelet, have created ‘Louder Than Guns’, a campaign that shows how taking action can create real change and save lives.
‘Louder Than Guns’ is a two-part campaign inspired by the frustration high school students of Los Angeles feel toward the apathy and normalization of gun violence. The first part harnesses that frustration into ‘Gunsure Insurance’ ads to spark conversation, then transitions into actionable ways Angelenos can get involved to make a difference.
On 22 May, dystopian ads for gun violence insurance will appear around Los Angeles, with headlines like ‘Living With Everyday Gunfire?’ and ‘If There’s a Shooting Are You Covered?’
The organization hopes they are just preposterous enough to make people stop and wonder if they're real. Much like an insurance company might sell different products, this campaign has ads that speak to the different ways Americans experience gun violence – mass shooting insurance, accidental shooting insurance and daily gunfire insurance.
All ads direct Angelenos to 1-833-GUNSURE, a “hotline” that explains the turn in the campaign, provides an avenue to share personal stories of gun violence, and drives people to the campaign hub, louderthanguns.org, which explains that the ads are not real – they’re a wakeup call.
The campaign transforms into an uplifting, youth-led call to action on National Gun Violence Awareness Day (7 June). Tha day the ‘Gunsure Insurance’ ads will be replaced by vibrant posters that urge Angelenos to take action.
Distributed through bus shelters and digital and social media, all campaign extensions drive Angelenos back to the campaign website, where people can learn how to get involved in ways big and small, engage their communities, access a toolkit so anyone can become a campaign ambassador, and share their stories.
The MYCEGV claims to be the first mayor-led initiative in the country to formalize a leadership role for youth in city government to drive action and advocacy on gun violence prevention and intervention. The council is comprised of 14 high school students from across the City of Los Angeles. It was formed following a roundtable with local teenagers hosted by Mayor Garcetti following the massacre in Parkland, Florida in 2018.
Omelet and the council received input from March for Our Lives, The Brady Campaign, Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence, and Everytown for Gun Safety.
See some of the work by clicking on the Creative Works box below.
