Sandy Hook Promise and BBDO win Outstanding Commercial Emmy for 'Teenage Dream'
The music video-style spot directed by Smuggler's Henry-Alex Rubin brought a morbid twist Katy Perry's breezy pop tune and highlighted experience of real-life gun violence survivors.
Read: 'Teenage Dream' takes a dark turn in Sandy Hook Promise ad
The ad was directed by Smuggler’s Henry-Alex Rubin, who previously helmed other notable spots for the client including “Back to School Essentials,” the 2020 Outstanding Commercial Emmy winner that brought a morbid twist to return-to-school ads; as well as 2016’s “Evan,” which hid a gun violence awareness lesson within a love story.
The “Teenage Dream” ad unsettlingly used a music video format to recount the experiences of real-life teen gun violence survivors, including those of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida.