• by Danielle Oster , October 1, 2025

A new campaign from a gun violence prevention nonprofit reimagines the lemonade stand.

“Project Lockdown: No Gun Left Unlocked” is the latest from Teachers Unify To End Gun Violence, a nonprofit founded by educators, including teacher Abbey Clements, a survivor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

At the center of the campaign is an ad called “Lemonade Stand” featuring what initially appears to be a lemonade stand, but upon closer inspection is revealed to be selling gun locks instead.

The ad explains how gun locks can help prevent school shootings. A 2019 report on targeted violence in schools found that in 76% of the cases examined, the perpetrator obtained a gun from a parent or relative, and in 48% of cases, “the firearm was either readily accessible, or it was not secured in a meaningful way.”

“Project Lockdown” includes a “Lock-a-Gun Now” initiative, which makes gun locks available for purchase from national retailers including Amazon, Lowe’s and Walmart with a single click.

“Project Lockdown” launched on the nonprofit’s owned channels on Sept. 18, after a delay to its initially planned launch date. The campaign was led by Minneapolis-based creative agency Preston Spire, who worked on the effort pro bono.

“It was going to launch earlier, but only in 2025 do you have to move a gun safety ad because of a shooting that happened [nearby],” Preston Spire Creative Director Brett Essman told Marketing Daily, referencing the Sept. 10 school shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado.

In another video, kids talk openly about how lockdown drills have become a sad routine:  “It’s something that you do -- just practice hiding from a man with an assault rifle in your school,” says one. Essman explained the interviews with students for the video were meant to get their point-of-view and provide “a place to feel safe and be heard.”

“Project Lockdown” was timed around the beginning of the school year, Essman explained, noting that there were several shootings in the first week of the school year alone. The campaign ‘s focus and messaging builds on information Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence had already been providing schools about proper gun storage.

Essman said the issue was a strong one to build a campaign around because it can make a meaningful difference in preventing school shootings with a very simple ask that's hard to imagine anyone objecting to.

“What’s great about this idea is it’s not politically driven,” he said, which will help reach audiences that tend to ignore campaigns they view as politically motivated or perceive as targeting gun ownership.

“It’s not about taking peoples’ guns, it’s about being a responsible and decent human being,” he added. “We’re not going after one side or the other, we’re bringing a solution to the people.”

The campaign will continue rolling out across social media channels, including a paid social component targeting the Minneapolis and Miami areas, which Essman said were chosen fue to the recent Church of the Annunciation school shooting in Minneapolis, and Parkland school shooting in 2018.

Essman, who has been in advertising for around 15 years, called working on the campaign one of the most positive experiences of his career.

He said “Project Lockdown” provided a focus and approach with “longevity” that can be built on with subsequent campaigns.

“We think it has a lot of legs, it’s a big platform we can keep going for years to come,” he added. “It’s  an issue that’s not going to go away any time soon.”