Back-To-School Essentials

"Back-To-School Essentials" is a 2019 public service announcement (PSA) by American 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Sandy Hook Promise. Created as a shock piece, the PSA presents American students showing various back-to-school items, with the PSA becoming progressively disturbing to the viewer as the events of a school shooting unfolds. It received the 2020 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.

Background
Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting by family members of the shooting victims. Prior to the release of "Back-To-School Essentials", SHP previously released the public service announcement (PSA) video "Evan" in 2016, which begins with a high-school boy named Evan looking for a "mystery girl" with whom he had written back and forth in the days leading up to summer break. As soon as the two students meet each other while signing yearbooks in the gymnasium, a classmate emerges in the background holding an assault rifle. The message is revealed by SHP as the video goes on to explain that “while you were watching Evan, another student was showing signs of planning a shooting. But no one noticed.” The video plays again while highlighting multiple indications of a student showing concerning signs of being bullied and displaying an interest in guns. It ends with the message, “gun violence is preventable when you know the signs.”  SHP additionally released "Point of View" in 2018, six months after the Sandy Hook school shooting, which presented a series of events at a high school, up to the moment that a shooting is about to begin, in the point-of-view of a school shooter. The PSA was directed by Rupert Sanders.

Development and release
"Back-To-School Essentials" was created by SHP through advertising agency network BBDO New York, with a media budget of US$37 thousand directly, with media otherwise being donated. The PSA was had an intentional launch time set for the "back-to-school period" in order to "remind people of the new normal, that kids are being taught how to survive shootings." The 66-second long PSA was directed by Henry-Alex Rubin and produced by SMUGGLER.

It was released on the morning of September 18, 2019. The PSA starts off with American students showing off items in such a way that initially presents the PSA as a back-to-school advertisement,  while taking a more disturbing approach as a school shooting unfolds. It ends with an girl emotionally showing her smartphone which she uses to send a text message reading "I love you mom," and closes her eyes upon hearing the sounds of a door being opened as the video ends with the sounds of footsteps. At the end of the PSA, a message reads "It's back to school time, and you know what that means. School shootings are preventable when you know the signs."

According to SHP co-founder Mark Barden, the PSA's shocking nature was intentional and "designed to spark conversations about prioritizing the prevention of violent acts in school and aims to promote a more hands-on approach to ending violence."

Reception
"Back-To-School Essentials" was viewed 26 million times within 24 hours of its release, during which SHP generated US$100 thousand in donations. It further generated 3.9 billion total impressions through 4,400 media stories. In total, US$7.6 million was generated from the PSA's media coverage. The PSA was further shared on Twitter by politicians including Kamala Harris and Bill de Blasio.

Will Burns of Forbes viewed the PSA as one that, in contrast to SHP's previous PSA's, prioritizes fear over its message, describing it as being "about generating fear that gun violence will take place in your school." Heidi Stevens of the Chicago Tribune initially expressed feelings of resentment towards the PSA, though later acknowledges it as her own "short-sightedness" upon further reflection regarding the grim reality of American children facing the "trauma of a school shooting [being] a possibility they wake up to and walk into every single weekday, from preschool through college."

Awards and nominations
Following its release, "Back-To-School Essentials" received the 2020 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial during the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. During the 2020 Webby Awards, it was nominated under the "Public Service & Activism (Branded)" category, of which they won the Webby People's Voice Award, while receiving a Webby Award under the "Best Viral PR Campaign" category. It received "Silver Honor" in the "Call To Action" category during the Shorty Awards, as well as the first "Storytelling for Good Award" during the Clio Awards. During the 2022 IPA Effectiveness Awards, "Back-To-School Essentials" received the Silver award as well as the "Best Small Budget" award.