Sandy Hook Promise PSA Takes Stark Look At School Shooting Impacts on US Children

A staggering 80% of parents feel that the ongoing threat of school violence has affected the childhood experience in America today*. This growing concern comes as the gun violence epidemic continues to be the leading cause of death for kids in the United States. In its latest public service announcement (PSA) launched today, 'A Teddy Bear’s Dream,' Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) uses an iconic symbol of innocence and comfort – a teddy bear – to underscore that childhood doesn’t have to be this way – and that school shootings are preventable when you know the signs.

This year’s PSA centres around the notion that kids deserve to be kids and teddy bears belong in children’s arms – not at shrines and memorials in the aftermath of school shootings. The PSA opens with a sweet story told through the eyes of a teddy bear imagining its life with the little girl who carefully picked it out at the store. However, audiences quickly learn that the teddy bear’s fate isn’t for the life of happiness and cheerful moments that you’d imagine. An impactful reveal shows this teddy bear was instead purchased to be placed at a memorial for a school shooting.

This dark image has become synonymous with shootings that happen too often in U.S. schools. Following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, 60,000 bears were sent to Newtown, CT – so many that a storage facility was required. These comfort objects, meant for playtime and companionship, have since become a go-to object placed at memorials. In the PSA, the viewer will witness images of multiple shrines from numerous tragedies, including piles of teddy bears outside of Sandy Hook Elementary, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and Robb Elementary among others.

The PSA is set to 'Best Friends' from the Disney classic film, 'The Fox & the Hound'. The song captures the essence of childhood companionship and offers the perfect narrative to the story highlighted within the spot.

Sandy Hook Promise worked with its long-time partners, BBDO New York, SMUGGLER Production and award-winning director Henry-Alex Rubin, to bring this new PSA to life. Their collaboration over the past few years is responsible for the viral and Emmy Award-winning PSAs 'Teenage Dream' and 'Back-to School Essentials,' and multiple award-winning 'Evan.'

To punctuate the launch of the PSA, Sandy Hook Promise created 'Memorial Bears' that transform into 'Hope Bears' that detail how we can prevent school shootings. The bears were shared with key influencers, media, and policymakers as a symbol of the cultural change SHP is working to create through its initiatives – because a teddy bear designed for school shooting shrines is a product that should never exist.

Prevention is Possible: Two Planned Shootings Stopped in Less Than a Month

Since its inception, Sandy Hook Promise has been at the forefront of educating youth and adults on how to prevent school violence, shootings, and other harmful acts through their innovative Know the Signs programs and have proven that prevention is possible. In fact, Sandy Hook Promise announced today that they recently helped prevent a planned school shooting in Florida after more than 40 tips about threatening social media messages were submitted to the National Crisis Centre of the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System, a service of Sandy Hook Promise. Following an investigation, authorities determined the 14-year-old student had access to a weapon, made a threat, and had a plan for an attack. They have been charged with threatening communications or threats of a mass shooting.

The announcement of this most recent planned school shooting in Florida comes just weeks after the thwarted shooting at Mooresville High School in Indiana. Sandy Hook Promise’s Know the Signs programs and Say Something Anonymous Reporting System have played a critical role in stopping at least 18 credible planned school shooting attacks to date, as well as countless other acts of violence, suicide, and self-harm since its creation in 2018 . Strict criteria are used to assess a prevented attack, including the presence of a clear threat and plan, access to a weapon, and where the initial information came from.

“All across this country, there are tragic stories we will never hear about because a brave upstander recognized warning signs and did something to prevent a violent act,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, and mother of Dylan, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. “Each of those stories are young lives saved and a community shielded from the trauma of gun violence.”

Left, Daniel Barden, right, Dylan Hockley

“Preventing school shootings and other acts of gun violence is possible when there’s the education to recognize warning signs and engage a trusted adult to help. Through our programs and resources, we are building a culture of care, cultivating the next generation of upstanders, and creating safer schools and communities for our children to thrive. We all have a role to play in preserving childhood innocence and ensure a teddy bear stays just that – an enduring symbol of childhood innocence and imagination.”

A Need for More Education and Awareness

Nearly 40% of parents think about the possibility of a school shooting or safety threat at their child’s school on a weekly or even daily basis, with almost half considering it monthly*. This highlights the pervasive anxiety school violence creates in families.

“Parents in the US are reporting increased levels of anxiety and fear about the potential for violence happening in their children’s school. This fear is based in a very real and saddening reality, with 2023 and 2024 having the highest incidents of school shootings ever recorded,” said Mark Barden, cofounder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, and father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. “Solutions exist, we just need more people to know how to proactively prevent devastating tragedies.”

To date, more than 31 million people nationwide have participated in Sandy Hook Promise’s lifesaving Know the Signs programs. The Know the Signs programs are available to every school and youth organisation on-demand and at no cost.

“Being on this journey to drive change with Sandy Hook Promise has been such an honour for BBDO. It’s now been about a decade working together and we’re still steadfast in our commitment to educate people to Know The Signs of school shootings,” said Chris Beresford-Hill, worldwide chief creative officer at BBDO. To date, our PSAs have engaged millions of viewers in understanding the importance of recognising warning signs to prevent school shootings and gun violence and won a combined 29 prestigious Cannes Lion award, 2 Emmy awards, and over 300 other industry awards.

A Commitment to Action

Sandy Hook Promise is committed to ensuring life-saving programs that educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence get the attention and support they deserve. To watch the PSA and learn more about Sandy Hook Promise's mission and programs, visit sandyhookpromise.org/teddybear.

*KRC Research conducted an online survey (n=1,000) of parents of kids 0-17 (all parents aged 18+). The study was fielded between February 4-9th, 2025.