In 2020, Change the Ref launched Ballots Against Bullets, a campaign exposing politicians who failed to reduce gun violence. The campaign superimposed voter ballots over crime scene images from mass shootings, with bullet holes checking the boxes for politicians in office when the shooting took place, and who failed to prevent the crime through gun reform.

In 2022, we once again set out to remind voters of the importance of gun reform, and encouraged them to not re-elect pro-gun politicians. Following the first edition’s success, the bar for creativity and impact was already high, so it was important this work pushed the conversation forward. The creative approach had to look new and shock voters with the same message.

The goal was to continue driving awareness around why gun policies matters during voting, while highlighting politicians who have historically failed to support measures reducing gun violence in the U.S.

During the 2022 U.S. Midterm elections, Americans appointed candidates to the U.S. Congress. This marked an opportunity for Change the Ref to bring its cause for gun reform to the forefront of election discussions and encourage people to educate themselves on where their preferred candidate stands on reducing gun violence.

As a follow up to the 2020 Ballots Against Bullets campaign, the creative idea was to once again share a voter ballot, but instead using a gun wound to “check” the ballot for the pro-gun politician. This juxtaposition of the ballot against an image highlighting the devastating effect of gun violence would show voters that their ballot for a pro-gun politician could become a bullet.

Our target audience was U.S. voters especially in states where notorious pro-gun politicians would run.

Our target audience was U.S. voters, especially in states where notorious pro-gun politicians would run including Florida, Texas and Georgia.

In this iteration, the effort took a more personal approach, enlisting real survivors of gun violence to make the case for gun control. The images superimposed voter ballots over the survivors' bullet scars, using their wounds to “check” the box for politicians opposing gun reform.

The campaign created a powerful visual representation of the devastating impact of gun violence, while exposing politicians who fail to do anything about reducing this violence.

Launching assets the day before the U.S. Midterm Elections, we would create awareness for this cause by strategically placing our media near voting sites as well as in local newspapers.

Running the day before the election, the campaign was showcased on 40 billboards, posters and projections strategically placed near voting sites in Florida, Georgia and Texas, where prominent pro-gun candidates would run. It also ran on a local newspaper, as well as through owned social media channels. The prints showcased in each state corresponded to the real state ballots that voters would be using on election day.

We used our platform to remind voters that they could fight gun violence through their vote.

The 2022 midterms were critical– it marked the highest record for voter turnout in a midterm election according to the Census Bureau, which means we were talking to the largest group of midterm voters ever. And support for gun control in this election increased by 11% compared to the previous midterm election in 2018.

In this record-breaking political climate, the results were positive. At state and local levels, Gen-Z candidates that ran campaigns centered on gun reform were elected, including 25-year-old Democrat Maxwell Frost, who was elected to Florida’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Orlando, the site of the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in 2016.

And while these results mark a step forward, there is still a long way to go. That’s why the continuous work of brands like Change the Ref is crucial.