Sandy Hook Promise is a non-profit organization established after the tragic event of the Sandy Hook mass shooting in Connecticut on December 14, 2012–only 11 days before Christmas. This was the second-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, taking 26 innocent lives and injuring two. Of those 26 lives, six were women and 20 were children, ranging in age from 6-7 years old.

According the Sandy Hook Promise organization, “The Sandy Hook Promise strives to honor all victims of gun violence, and bring communities together to prevent any future massacres.”

In order to spread awareness, they released a back-to-school commercial on September 17, 2019 that has reached more than 4 million views.

The commercial opens as a typical advertisement for back-to-school supplies, but for the unsuspecting viewer, it’s all about to change: “These headphones are just what I need for studying.” Once his headphones are on, the viewer hears children screaming as the students continue the ‘classic’ back-to-school theme demonstrating their relief for having these supplies.

Slowly it begins escalating as a student uses his skateboard to break a glass window in order to escape. Another student uses her sock to stop the bleeding of a wounded girl.

“These new socks can be a real lifesaver.”

If that wasn’t heartbreaking enough, the final scene opens with a young girl hiding in a bathroom stall sending her mother an “I  love you mom” text. She then states, “And I finally got my own phone to stay in touch with my mom”, as the door opens to the bathroom with heavy steps coming towards her.

It ends with a black screen statement that we all have heard during back-to-school ads:

As a generation impacted by gun violence, we have become desensitized to news of a new mass shooting. The video contrasts our current reality with the public’s view of schools being a ‘safe haven’; however, both students and parents now live in a constant state of fear and paranoia. Students now are preparing themselves for the worst and parents are utilizing back-to-school supplies as weapons and defensive items. Meanwhile, the world is getting prepared for the next breaking news about school shootings.