Violence is a problem that affects the international level and manifests itself in different ways. From wars, terrorism, to organized crime, violence has left an indelible mark on the history of humanity. In Mexico, violence has become a daily problem that affects everyone.
In fact, it seems that the daily news related to violence is something people are (unfortunately) getting used to.
Marketers and publicists cannot be oblivious to this situation and, although there have been efforts to raise awareness among people about the causes and results of the closest types of violence, it is still not enough and there is a very long way to go.
Violence has taken such a dimension that it continues to manifest itself in its different forms: physical, psychological, sexual, gender violence, child abuse, domestic violence, at work, bullying and insecurity due to organized crime and drug trafficking in which we live. daily and everywhere, they are acts that continue to occur and lead to serious results.
Some alarming facts:
In 2022, 1,793 cases of torture were registered, more than 800 murders of women with extreme cruelty (it is the third type of violent acts that were most registered in Mexico) and at least 500 massacres
Accumulated at least 359 murders of girls, boys and adolescents (an average of 30 children per month)
The ten most violent entities last year were: Baja California, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Morelos, State of Mexico,
Guerrero, Zacatecas, Veracruz, Chihuahua and Jalisco (although there is an indeterminate number of acts not registered by the press)
Violence increased that year by 17 percent compared to 2021
Aggravated rape (more than 235 percent); murders of journalists (more than 89 percent); murders of women with extreme cruelty (more than 65 percent) and torture (more than 65 percent) were the violent acts that increased the most compared to the same period mentioned
Compared to the US (despite the fact that it is the country with the most weapons in the hands of civilians globally), Mexico has a higher incidence of homicides with firearms (19.2 homicides with firearms per 100,000 inhabitants).
In recent decades, Mexico has suffered an increase in the levels of violence. Much of it is associated with drug traffickers and the war on drugs, with high numbers of homicides, as well as human rights abuses.
According to the latest security report from the Government of Mexico, in 2023, March is the bloodiest month of the year. 3,632 people have been murdered (almost 120 a day) and we must add the more than 4,000 disappeared from January to date
The report ‘MX: The War in Numbers’, from the agency specialized in opinion studies T-ResearchMX, indicates that there have been more than 157,000 intentional homicides so far in the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, according to the report. newspaper of the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection.
Now, not to justify the local, violence is a global problem that affects all societies, and although each country has its own dynamics, violence at the international level has intensified in recent years. Armed conflicts, gender violence, terrorism and organized crime are just a few examples of the manifestations of violence that surround us.
For example, on April 10, we received the news of the terrible shooting at a bank in Kentucky, in the US, in which an employee, knowing that he was going to be fired, killed 5 people in that place while broadcasting live on Instagram the attack. The shooting, the 15th mass murder in the US so far in 2023, happened two weeks after a former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee.
In this context, the new campaign of the non-profit organization for gun control Change the Ref, in the United States, is an example of how civil society can mobilize to raise awareness about violence and find solutions to eradicate it.
the campaign of Change the Refwith the support of the agency Energy BBDO, launch the concept “New Recruits”, with the copy: “Send your sons to war. It’s safer than sending them to school.”
The campaign seeks to raise public awareness about gun violence in the United States and advocate for greater gun control based on a very important fact: in the last 20 years, more young people have died from gun violence than military personnel. and active duty police.
To further illustrate the concept, Change the Ref created a fake recruiting center in Montclair, New Jersey. Leaders of this organization, Manuel and Patricia Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the 2018 Parkland, Florida high school shooting, along with 16 others, handed out mock recruitment flyers encouraging pedestrians to mobilize for control. of weapons.
Here the video:
The campaign draws attention to gun violence and demands a change in the legislation that regulates the sale and possession of weapons.
Last year, Change the Ref won four Grand Clios for its “Lost Class” initiative created with the work of the Leo Burnett agency, based on the data that in the US 3,044 students of the class of 2021 at the secondary level (High School) they did not graduate because they were killed with a gun in mass shootings. The concept is shown by holding a graduation ceremony (the “Lost Class” or “Lost Generation”), in the middle of three thousand empty chairs, and tricking two gun advocates into giving the class farewell speech.
The creative approach of the campaign has been very effective in generating attention in the media and on social networks. Change the Ref ads feature a striking, provocative and powerful aesthetic that clearly conveys the message that gun violence is not something that should be normalized in society.
In Mexico, violence is a problem that affects society as a whole. Although violence has been a recurring theme in the media and in society, it is necessary to continue raising awareness about the seriousness of the problem and seek effective solutions to eradicate it.
Advertisers in Mexico can play an important role in this regard. Through advertising, we can transmit messages that promote peace, respect for human rights and tolerance. It is important that our campaigns not only attract attention, but are really effective in generating change in society.
It is important that we work in collaboration with other organizations and social actors to comprehensively address the problem of violence. Education and culture (so hit by the present administration) are fundamental elements to transform the violent reality that we live in the country.
Advertising is not the solution to violence in Mexico, but it can be an important tool to use in a complex problem in which many “hands and minds” must intervene (not seeking polarization that generates hatred and violence).
We must act now and “get our hands dirty” as specialists in communication and companies so that it is society itself that intervenes and raises its voice, both in the application and in the demand for NON-VIOLENCE.
