Using audio from 911 calls made the night of Feb. 26, 2012, a new advertisement combating “stand your ground” laws re-enacts the night Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman. The video, created for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, is chilling to say the least, and needless to say, comments have been disabled on its YouTube page.
The ad’s producer, Floyd Russ, also created an ad simply called “Ed” for the advertising firm Grey New York showing a man attempting to shoot up an office with a Colonial-era musket; the Grey Group produced a similar ad in April for Moms Demand Action, labeling the shells ejected from a semi-automatic rifle with the names of U.S. towns where mass shootings took place.
AdWeek spoke to Russ about his inspiration for the “Stand Up to Stand Your Ground” PSA:
Russ tells AdFreak that he got the idea for the spot on the night of the Zimmerman verdict. He got Grey creatives Marques Gartrell and Kim Nguyen and account director Cassie Novick on board, and they raised $5,000 in a week online to cover production costs. Final Cut agreed to cover the postproduction work. Russ and his team drew up a list of potential clients for the spot; The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence was the first to reply.
Meanwhile, the near-constant urging from politicians calling for gun control measures has noticeably ebbed in the months since Newtown—some 50 mayors have been quietly dropping out of Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns group, though more members are reportedly joining the group than leaving it.
