• Situation

2022 was a milestone in gun violence in the U.S. While 34 Senators voted against the Gun Control Bill, there were more than 45,000 victims.

This situation went worse at the beginning of 2023, when mass shootings spiked alarmingly.

• Brief

On February 2023 was the 5th anniversary of Parkland Mass Shooting: How can we use the date to point out the 34 Pro-Guns Senators while getting support from more Americans to change this situation?

As if this were not enough; how can we make it when people's attention is going to be on the Super Bowl, the event with the biggest advertising budgets? And even more challenging, will it be possible with our $0 on budget?

• Objectives

To trigger conversation on how politicians’ decisions have been more dangerous than weapons, and encourage Americans to pressure those 34 Pro-Guns Senators to improve gun laws and save lives.

We took out the media that marks players’ infraction on the football field, to mark a holding on gun laws against the 34 U.S. Pro-Guns Senators.

Curiously, two events with a lot of attention would take place in the same week: the Super Bowl and The State of the Union. If we were able to capitalize the two events' attention with a culturally relevant idea, we would be able to take over the conversation, media coverage and thereby put pressure on the 34 Pro-Guns Senators.

Days before Super Bowl, we made penalty flags on behalf of gun violence victims with the message: "YOU GOT A PENALTY FLAG FOR YOUR INACTION ON GUN VIOLENCE” and in knowledge that on February 7th all the 34 Pro-Guns Senators were going to be at The Capitol attending of the State of the Union event; we went there to deliver them personally in their offices.

Our stunt got media attention, including the live special coverage of The State of the Union in many news channels and press. Americans reacted and became

Days before Super Bowl LVII, we made penalty flags on behalf of gun violence victims and in knowledge that on February 7th all the 34 Pro-Guns Senators were going to be at The Capitol attending of the State of the Union event; we went there to deliver them personally in their offices, to exhibit them and demand change.

Despite the fact that authorities prevented us from delivering all the 34 Penalty Flags for Change, we invited everyone that witnessed our action on social and mass media to replicate what we did against those senators.

Our stunt got media attention nationally, including the live special coverage of The State of the Union in many news channels and press. Americans reacted and became referees of gun violence, protesting against senators by throwing their own handmade penalty flag from their social media, urging change.

We generated gun violence awareness during one of the most important cultural events, because while just in the U.S. the Super Bowl had an audience of 99 million people, the Penalty Flag For Change campaign reached the equivalent of 65% of those people.

With $0 budget got the next results:

All the 34 Pro-Guns senators received a physical Penalty Flag for Change (25 the day we went to their offices and 9 by post mail).

We turned penalty flags into a new way to protest.

Within 6 days, Americans all around the country posted content throwing handmade Penalty Flags tagging the 34 Pro-Guns Senators, demanding them change.

With all the efforts, we reached more than 65 million people.

The campaign was mentioned in more than 600 news national and local media.

MSNBC interviewed us for more than 7 minutes during the special coverage of the most important U.S. political event: The State of The Union.

Different celebrities shared the campaign like the Super Bowl winner Joe Montana or the Oscar Awards winner Susan Sarandon.

Senator George Santos accepted our flag and expressed apologies.