2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

There have been over 2,700 mass shootings since Manuel and Patricia Oliver lost their son Joaquin in Parkland, Florida in 2018. Despite tireless advocacy and countless creative campaigns, nothing seems to change.

Frustrated by the pace of change, the Olivers have taken the unprecedented step of suing the U.S. government in the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, which represents Canada, the United States and Mexico. On behalf of the Olivers, and in the name of their son Joaquin, Global Action on Gun Violence (GAGV) filed the “Lawsuit for Survival,” reframing gun violence as a human rights issue and opening a promising new chapter in the struggle to reform U.S. gun laws.

The challenge was to develop a campaign in support of this noble initiative. A campaign to get the word out that someone was finally taking action on behalf of everyone affected by the epidemic of mass shootings plaguing America today.

Rather than more talk, the agency landed on an approach that reframed the gun debate as an urgent human rights issue demanding action. This would disrupt the gun reform discourse.

The creative strategy was to shift the narrative: from only focusing on past lives lost to emphasizing the futures we’re all entitled to stay alive for, robbed from us by U.S. gun policy. The agency knew that the humanity and audacity of the Oliver family would be at the heart of the work.

Working within pro bono campaign parameters, the agency leveraged donated and earned media.

As an initiative mixing legal and creative disciplines, GAGV publicized the lawsuit and launched as a brand with a series of elements. A full-page spread targeting politicians that ran in The Washington Post. An emotional 2-minute online film with social cutdowns featuring activists and survivors claiming their fundamental right to live, which ran on YouTube, Meta, X and TikTok. This piece showed a chorus of voices illustrating the right to life’s milestones both memorable and mundane. A PR push including primetime news appearances on CNN, CBS and NBC. Legal seminars and panels at George Washington State University and the LatinX Film Festival. Display advertising ran on donated channel and a social “explainer” content and display ads that explained the legal basis for the lawsuit in
layman’s terms.

The lawsuit is under deliberation at the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights. This first milestone, that the case will be tried at all, marks an unprecedented step in the struggle for gun reform.

If they win, the U.S. will be told what it needs to do to comply with its human rights obligations in a way that could save countless lives.

As the first public action for the newly formed GAGV, the action earned +590 million impressions and a 1,500% increase in website visits, establishing the organization with a network of supporters, and positioning them to take on more international actions. They’ve just won a historic ruling in a lawsuit on behalf of Mexico against U.S. gun manufacturers. By pursuing reform via international law, GAGV is poised to bring much-needed accountability to politicians and gun manufacturers.

Credits

Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Creatve Chairman: Zak Mroueh
Chief Creative Officer: Tim Gordon
Executive Creative Director: Dean Lee
Creative Director/Writer: Dan Cummings
Creative Director/Art Director: Vic Bath
Executive Producer: Kate Harris
Account Team: Meghan Mullen, David Tremblay, Caroline Engram
Head Of Strategy: Emily Garvey
Communications Planning Director: Annie Yuan
Client: Global Action on Gun Violence
Clients: Jonathan Lowy
Elizabeth Burke, Stephanie Lowet, Mary Ester, Nancy Hwa, Mike Parker,
Eric Schnabelm
Production Company: Chelsea Pictures
Owner, President: Lisa Mehling
Vp, Executive Producer: Pat Mcgoldrick
Director: Nadav Kander
Director Of Photography: Darren Lew
Head Of Production: Raul Perez
Line Producer: Jon Dino
Production Supervisor: Andrew Krasniak
Production Coordinator: Christianna Miller
Casting Directors: Karmen Leech (The Cast Station) & Liz Lewis Casting
Editorial Company: Final Cut
Editor: Ashley Kreamer
Assistant Editor: Kaylin Smida
Senior Producer: Wade Weliever
Head Of Production: Penny Ensley
Executive Producer: Sarah Roebuck
Us Managing Director: Justin Brukman
Telecine Company: Rare Medium
Telecine Artist: Fergus Mccall
Managing Partner: Heath Raymond
VFX / Finishing House: Significant Others
Managing Director: Justin Brukman
Executive Producer: Alyssa St. Vincent
Head Of Production: Alexandra Leal
Executive Creative Director: Dirk Greene
Vfx Artist: Phil Apostol
Head Of Design: Phil Brooks
Gfx Artist: Kogan Li
Producer: Kyla Amols
Production Coordinator: Hoa Vu
Original Music & Mix Company: Barking Owl
Creative Directors: Kelly Baye, Johanna Cranitch
Executive Producer: Ashley Benton
Mixer: Brad Beasley