MICHAEL BLOOMBERG'S SUPER BOWL AD SPOTLIGHTS A MOTHER WHO LOST HER SON TO GUN VIOLENCE

Michael Bloomberg's 60-second Super Bowl LIV spot, released this morning, spotlights the heartbreaking story of Calandrian Simpson Kemp, a Houston, Texas mother who lost her son, George Kemp, Jr., to gun violence in 2013 when he was 20 years old.

The ad starts with Simpson Kemp talking about her son's love of football, with photos of him as a smiling kid on the football field going in and out of screen. "He had aspirations about going to the NFL," she says. Then she reveals he was shot on a Friday morning and "didn't survive."

The Big Game spot calls attention to the national gun violence crisis, with a harrowing statistic flashing across the screen: 2,900 children die from gun violence every year. In the spot, Simpson Kemp, an active member of Moms Demand Action, praises Bloomberg's efforts to end the crisis—which include taking on the gun lobby and fighting for common-sense gun safety measures.

“I chose to devote the entire 60-second ad to gun safety because it matters to communities across the country and it will be a top priority for me as president,” Bloomberg said in a statement. "Calandrian’s story is a powerful reminder of the urgency of this issue and the failure of Washington to address it. People will be rooting for different teams in the Super Bowl, but virtually all Americans—including people in both parties and a majority of gun owners—support universal background checks and other common sense gun laws."

https://adage.com/article/special-report-super-bowl/michael-bloombergs-super-bowl-ad-spotlights-mother-who-lost-her-son-gun-violence/2232296