Finally, an organization is joining the gun debate without standing on a well-worn soap box on either end of the crazy spectrum. Finally, an organization is using marketing to change behavior for the better, and not resorting to radical tactics that only further polarize both sides of the debate. Finally, an organization is using human nature to positively affect human nature.
Watch this video from an organization called Evolve and I'll explain:
No lectures, just insight.
I give the video a B+ from a creative standpoint. It's good, not great. And similar in tone to another spot launched earlier in the year called, "The Bill Of Rights For Dumbasses." But I give it an A+ from a strategic standpoint because the ad is pinned to an indisputable, motivating human insight: if they (kids) find it, they will play with it.
Now, Evolve could have just wagged their fingers at us and said those exact words and no one would have listened. But they didn't. They found another dreadful object that a kid might find in a house that triggers every "embarrassment neuron" we have in our brains: dildos. The kids found mom's dildos. And, yep, there they are playing with them in front of another mother.
Horrible right?
But not nearly as horrible as if the kids found a gun. On that we can all agree.
Evolve is a template for everything debatable.
Wouldn't it be refreshing if there were an "Evolve" type of organization mitigating the healthcare debate? The immigration debate? The inequality debate? The world has become so stacked with politics and agendas, it's nearly impossible to read, watch, or listen to anything without having to consider the source first.
With this new video, Evolve has given us a new template for cutting through the rhetoric clouding difficult issues. Find a human insight - one that is true and indisputable to both sides of the debate - and leverage that insight to make the world a better place. In the case of the Evolve video, the insight isn't about gun rights or banning guns, but something as simple as, "If they find it, they will play with it."
Got it. I agree with it. And, if I owned a gun, it would absolutely compel me to be more careful.
As Evolve put it so well on their About page:
Americans are cynical about politics, but influenced by peer pressure from community, friends, family, religion, trusted brands, and unconsciously, by mass media. Cultural beliefs can't be legislated, but societal initiatives can be the most powerful – and legitimate – form of transformative change.
Maybe Evolve will inspire other organizations to step into the sanity void that is our political system. Maybe one day the Evolve model will actually be applied to other important debates like healthcare, immigration, inequality, and who knows what else.
I wrote this post with that in mind. Someone else is at a kitchen table now (Evolve was founded at a kitchen table) and is frustrated with the political dysfunction surrounding an important issue. Well, here's the model. Here it is.
I figure if they find it, they will play with it.
