A new public service announcement from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and creative firm Brand-Aid, which you can see below, takes viewers “inside” Orlando’s Pulse nightclub following the shooting that killed 49 people. According to a release, the PSA, “based on eyewitness accounts from first responders in the aftermath of the shooting, depicts cell phones ringing to no answer, strewn across bullet-ridden floors and tables. Following the actual shooting, as investigators picked through the carnage and evacuated the wounded, they were overwhelmed by the constant ringing of phone calls that would never be answered.”
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign, said, “49 precious people went out that June night to celebrate and dance with the friends they loved, but never came home. This PSA is a powerful and haunting reminder that gun violence isn’t just about statistics. It’s about real lives that are lost every day and it’s about the fundamental responsibility our elected leaders have to make this the safer nation we all want and deserve.”
Gross also stated that he is confident the PSA “will inspire even more Americans and politicians to “answer the call” and DO SOMETHING to stop gun violence in America.”
The mission of the Brady organization and its Million Mom March “is to create a safer America by cutting gun deaths in half by 2025.”
According to Brand-Aid, a small advertising boutique in Washington, D.C., that specializes in LGBT and HIV/AIDS campaigns, here’s the story behind the PSA: “On the morning after the tragic massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, they realized, in the wake of yet another senseless act of mass gun violence — this time against the LGBT community – that just adding a rainbow-flag filter to their Facebook profile pictures wasn’t going to cut it: They had to take immediate action and fight back. Inspired by an Orlando policeman’s gut-wrenching account from the crime scene of cellphones continuing to ring at the club hours after all the victims had been taken out, they storyboarded the concept and assembled a 20+ production crew to bring it to life. Working pro bono with MRB Films, In Your Ear Productions and Perceptive Monkey Visual Effects, Brand+Aid shot the PSA at U Street Music Hall in DC, edited and created visual effects in Baltimore the following week and finished music and sound design in Richmond. Brand+Aid is grateful for all of its partners, including the Brady Campaign, for helping to bring this powerful PSA to life — to raise awareness of violence against LGBTs and urge support of commonsense gun reform.”
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