In this film, we witness three different ways an unsecured gun can be misused — unintentionally, intentionally, and for suicide. We open on our protagonist leaving his gun unlocked and loaded in a drawer. What good is a gun if it’s not prepared for use? His son then uses the gun to shoot himself. As he tries to save his son, we learn that access to a gun triples our risk of death by suicide. Then, we’re pulled into a different scenario — one where his young daughter found the gun and unintentionally shot his wife. He tries to resuscitate her before paramedics take over and we’re transported into a third scenario — where someone has stolen his gun and used it to commit a mass shooting. We end with our protagonist realizing that the illusion of safety his gun provides is one that can shatter in an instant.

Ad Council and Brady tasked us to create a new PSA for the End Family Fire campaign. This work would evolve the campaign’s long time focus on the dangers of unsecured guns in homes. It needed to show 3 types of shootings: intentional, unintentional, and suicide. We needed to connect with the gun-owning audience and change their behavior through objective truth: if your gun is prepared for use, then you must also be prepared for misuse. Because safety is our common goal, we outlined the necessary steps gun owners must take to keep their families safe if they decide not to restrict access to their guns. These grisly scenarios present themselves as far worse than the alternative: restricting access to guns in the home by storing them securely.

We open on a gun getting placed into a drawer. Then closed shut. We now see DAN, typical American dad, sitting at the edge of his bed. He gets up and walks to a dresser - grabs a tie as his son, SAM (15), enters in the background.

DAN: I know my gun should be stored locked and unloaded.

Sam wanders over to the bedside table where the gun is, opens it, and reaches in.

DAN: But what good is a gun if it’s not prepared for use?

We pan away from him so we only see Dan O.S. We hear the sound of a magazine loading. The slide racking, hammer cocking…

DAN: So instead, I’m prepared for misuse.

FLASH! A pop of bright light. Sound drowns out. Ringing.

CUT TO Dan applying pressure to Sam’s head wound. He tries to stop the bleeding. Shoulders his cellphone.

DAN: I’m prepared to stop arterial bleeding in three minutes (to us)

Less for kids – they bleed out faster.

Then, into his phone:

DAN: My son just shot himself – hurry!

He hangs up. Again, to us:

DAN: Access to firearms triples your risk of death by suicide.

THUD! The sound of a gun hitting the floor. Off Dan’s look, CAMERA PANS into –

A replica of the same room – as THE DOOR OPENS and Dan walks in.

DAN: But that’s not the only way to misuse a gun.

CUT TO RAE huddled at the foot of the bed. A body lays O.S next to her. There’s a gun on the floor.

RAE: I think I hurt Mama…

DAN: Misuse can happen when you least expect.

Dan carefully picks up the gun and disables it, setting it aside. He then gets on his knees and begins doing compressions on someone that we can’t see. As he does:

DAN: So, being prepared means knowing the difference between CPR for adults

and kids.

BAM! Paramedics burst in. Oxygen tanks, defibrillator, backboard, the works. Sirens blaring.

Dan steps back. Catches his breath, and picks up Rae. CAMERA PANS as they leave the room.

Another replica of the same room as the door opens and Dan walks in, holding Rae in his arms. It’s calm and quiet, except for a TV on in the background.

DAN: Unintentional shootings happen everyday.

He gently lays Rae down on the bed, turning his attention to the news anchor on the TV, who we can hear but not see:

TV: There’s been another deadly shooting at the local elementary school. A lone

Gunman…

The anchor fades into the background as, for the first time, we see an inkling of fear in Dan.

DAN: So that sense of safety my guns bring me… can shatter in an instant.

A crack in his calm facade. He opens the drawer to find… no gun. He digs around the drawer as his panic grows and his face goes white. He knows what happened.

SUPER: YOU CAN PREVENT [MIS]USE

VO/ SUPER: Store your guns securely. Locked, unloaded, and away from ammo.

SUPER: END FAMILY FIRE

Access to firearms has been firmly woven into American culture for centuries. Over 60% of gun owners cite safety as the number one reason they own a gun. But American rates of gun suicide are climbing, alongside mass shootings, and guns are now the leading cause of death for children under 18. The data clearly shows that this is a public health epidemic.

Because of this misconception, 4.6 million children live in homes with access to unlocked and loaded guns. What good is a gun, the argument goes, if it’s not prepared for use? This campaign offers a different perspective: if your gun is prepared for use, then you must also be prepared for misuse.

Gun control is one of the most divisive issues in America, and because of the political divide, this campaign needed to avoid alienating gun owners by speaking to them from their perspective on the issue.