Last week’s installment of this column tackled negative political spots and the black eye they cast on the advertising industry. I hadn’t planned a follow-up to that piece, but a recent development has me again writing about the body politic as it relates to the ad arena.
That development was the expiration of the federal assault weapons ban, a 10-year-old law. President Bush expressed support for renewing the ban, but did not lobby Congress to extend it.
Gun control advocate Sarah Brady—the wife of James Brady, the White House press secretary who was seriously wounded during the attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981—claimed Bush was to blame for the demise of the assault weapons ban.
In response to criticism of President Bush on this issue, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "The best way to deter and combat violence committed with guns is to vigorously enforce our laws, and this administration has a strong record of vigorously and strictly enforcing our laws."
Unfortunately, now there’s one less law to enforce—much to the dismay of police chiefs throughout the country. Many police and law enforcement organizations have vigorously backed the federal assault weapons ban. Public opinion polls have found Americans overwhelmingly in favor of the ban as well, but still the law fell by the wayside. Indeed, bucking the gun lobby during an election year proved too daunting a task for Congress and President Bush.
This latest episode stirs my ad memory. While I find the negativity of current political advertising to be most disconcerting, it still goes merrily on. At the same time, I recall a thoughtful PSA of nearly five years ago that didn’t get the attention—and airplay—it deserved. Titled "If Not Now, When?" the ad promoted gun control by depicting the death of a teenager. Directed by Leslie Dektor of Dektor Film, Hollywood, for ad agency Red Ball Tiger, San Francisco, the PSA made SHOOT’s "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery (12/3/99, p. 16).
Back then I interviewed Red Ball Tiger managing director Bob Ravasio about the PSA. His comments in ’99, just months after the Columbine High School tragedy, still sadly ring true today. Regarding the motivation for the ad, Ravasio explained, "With the upcoming presidential election, we didn’t want this issue swept under the rug. The issue’s on the front page when children are gunned down in their school or community center. We thought there had to be a way to keep the issue ‘top of mind’ that didn’t cost lives."
At the same time, Ravasio acknowledged that his shop was fighting an uphill battle. "There’s a sense of frustration and helplessness about this issue," said Ravasio, who isn’t against gun ownership but advocates common-sense restrictions and requirements. "This [PSA] is something for people to grab onto. It’s not about the right to own [guns]; it’s about the right to live."
