EVOLVE and Saatchi & Saatchi New York launch "The Code" for Gun Responsibility

NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The gun responsibility organization Evolve and Saatchi & Saatchi New York today launched the first phase in a national culture change campaign aimed at reducing gun violence in America.

The campaign aims to become the "third voice" in a conversation that has been gridlocked for decades.
The backbone is a 126 word pledge to gun responsibility called The Code.

Evolve and Saatchi & Saatchi researched the behaviors of responsible gun owners by visiting gun stores and ranges, and inviting gun owners, manufacturers and NRA members around the table. The group discovered that there was a collection of implicit behaviors around gun safety—and around respect and honor for what gun ownership means in America. These behaviors make The Code.

The Code includes tenants such as I believe that owning a gun is a responsibility. And that gun safety is the most important part of that responsibility. I believe a gun in the wrong hands is a dangerous thing. I will be answerable for every gun I own at all times.

Evolve co-founder Rebecca Bond says: "I grew up in the Midwest where having a gun and hunting is as common as owning a dog.  Today's conversations about gun safety have become polarized in ideological debate, and we have lost the national voice of safety. Every 24 hours 6 kids die because of gun violence.  Whether you own 100 guns or none, we think everyone in America can agree that this is an unacceptable statistic and safety is not a side."

Saatchi NY's Chief Strategy Officer Claudine Cheever says: "Culture change is the most powerful way to affect human behavior. You can't tell people what to do, even if it's the right thing to do and they know it. It's too rational. Cultural ideas that people WANT to be part of will move mountains. It's heart to get to head."

The cornerstone of the campaign The Code launches today with the debut of The Code, a website http://www.takeonthecode.com along with information and visual elements such as the "Life Country Responsibility" logo of Evolve. Other communications will include video, print, and a participation pledge.

About Evolve

Evolve is about changing the culture of gun safety in America. We represent the third voice: the gun owner, manufacturer, retailer and non-gun owner who all want the same thing: less violence. It's time. We respect that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms. Let's make our country a better, less violent place. Evolve is a nonprofit organization founded by Jon and Rebecca Bond in 2013, made up of gun owners and industry professionals, moms, non-gun owners, and NRA members.

About Saatchi & Saatchi

Saatchi & Saatchi New York (www.saatchiny.com) known for its outstanding creative ideas that generate powerful emotional connections between consumers and products. This is a key element in Lovemarks, Saatchi & Saatchi's unique methodology for elevating the status of brands created to create "loyalty beyond reason" and "inspirational consumers."

SOURCE Saatchi & Saatchi