The goal of this project was simple, yet extremely difficult: get congress to pass gun control legislation to stop the epidemic of gun violence in America.

Despite creating some of the most disruptive digital anti-gun campaigns to date, March For Our Lives faced a stonewall in Washington. They needed something that brought their outrage and ambition into the real world. Something those politicians could see with their own eyes and experience. A direct message targeted to Congress right on the Capitol Building’s front lawn.

In the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, FL, survivors organized the largest single-day protest against gun violence in history. Millions marched on Washington in the March For Our Lives protest.

Even more protested throughout the nation. They had one goal: push Congress to pass gun control legislation to prevent another tragedy.

Despite conducting some of the biggest protests and anti-gun campaigns in the world, the government failed them. After 4 years and 170,000+ more gun deaths, not one piece of legislation has passed the Senate floor. Before the freshman class of the Parkland shooting graduated, nothing changed.

For their four-year anniversary, March For Our Lives asked us to help call out Washington’s inaction with a clear and powerful message. They needed something Congress couldn’t ignore.

Our objective: Create national buzz around Congressional inaction on gun violence.

Push Washington to finally pass gun control legislation. On the fourth anniversary of the March For Our Lives demonstration, we went back to Washington with a message they couldn’t ignore.

We spelled out “THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS” with 1,100 body bags, representing 170,00+ lives lost since the Parkland shooting, laid out across the National Mall lawn (the size of 3 football fields) in front of Congress, so they had no choice but to see the deadly impact of their empty words.

To further spread the message, we posted a birds-eye image of the installation across social media, letting our leading advocates and influencers share the image to their followers.

That day, Founder David Hogg was invited to the White House. And we finally saw the action we’ve been demanding.

When it comes to gun control, U.S politicians often dodge their responsibilities with well crafted speeches and empty promises.

Over the years, they’ve given the same meaningless response, “Thoughts and prayers” after each mass shooting incident. From the Congress floor to the digital space, this offensive soundbite is Washingston’s reaction and inaction towards American gun violence.

Our key insight: use Congress’s own words against them and show the gruesome impact their inaction has had on Americans.

We needed something that targeted US politicians who failed to act, while simultaneously capturing the attention and outrage of the American people.

To spread the word, we’d leverage local and national media coverage of the installation and hold a press conference led by March For Our Lives advocates in front of our installation and Congress.

Additionally, we’d utilize the March For Our Lives social channels and influencers to further distribute the message.

On March 24th, 1,100 body bags, representing the 170,00+ lives lost since the Parkland shooting, were laid across the National Mall (the size of 3 football fields) in front of the Capitol building. A visual message directed and targeted right at Congress.

As volunteers staked down each body bag, the Parkland shooting victims and March For Our Lives advocates held a press conference on site, to call out 4 years of inaction as Congress offered their “thoughts & prayers” after each shooting.

Birds-eye images of our installation were later distributed to the media outlets and posted to social media. We then utilized our Influencers and popular advocates to retweet the images and contribute to the conversation.

A week later, we sent an open letter (in video form) to Congress from the Parkland shooting victim, showing them the consequences of their inaction and demanding the passage of gun reform.

After the launch of the installation, calls for gun reform made headlines.

Media coverage from the Washington Post, ABC NEWS, and NowThis.

On site boards lead to a digital petition where the public can help support the cause.

March For Our Lives and their supporters released online films via their social media channels. Links directed netizens to donate or sign the petition to support the cause. March For Our Lives board member, David Hoggs, was invited to the White House to represent a push for gun reform.

Across social media, mentions of “March For Our Lives” went up 1401.04%, mentions of “Thoughts and Prayers” rose 620.04%, and mentions of background checks saw a 458.51% increase.

On April 8th, Biden announced an executive action on gun control.

Banning the sale and possession of unserialized guns Making it illegal for a licensed gun dealer to sell guns with a background check.

After every shooting, U.S. politicians have said the same three words, “Thoughts and prayers”. Across the internet and on the Congress floor, the phrase became a symbol for Washington's inability to take action against the issue.

There is a huge amount of tension in those three words. It represents America’s outrage towards Congress’s offensive soundbite.

The cultural insight became clear to our team: use Congress’s own words against them.

We’d show how the gruesome impact their “thoughts and prayers” has had on Americans, right where change can be made - the Capitol building.

On March 24th, 4 years after the Parkland school shooting, 1,100 body bags were laid across the National Mall (the size of 3 football fields) in front of the Capitol building. A visual message directed and targeted right at Congress that they can’t ignore.