The Bullet Proof Park campaign highlights the power of creativity to find solutions – and drive real activism and change – for the world’s problems, no matter how big they are, says M&C Saatchi Abel executive creative director Jake Bester.
The campaign led to real change on the ground, with communities and Gun Free South Africa establishing 60 new gun-free zones across the country.
More than 34 people are killed nationally every single day by firearms, and Cape Town is not exempt. Gang wars ravage through suburbs and communities of the Cape Flats, with stray bullets killing and maiming the innocent, including children.
Gun Free SA worked with M&C Saatchi Abel to find a solution: Bullet Proof Park. The campaign started on 4 April 2024, and is an ongoing effort. As audacious as it is, the is campaign s powered by a creative solution that brings to life Gun Free SA’s mission of advocating for systemic change, ensuring children can grow up without the constant threat, and fear, of gunfire.
Gun violence in South Africa, especially in areas like the Western Cape, is a major crisis fuelled by gang activity, illegal firearms and inadequate gun control enforcement.
Sadly, the problem has become so entrenched that it barely makes the news in a country with one of the highest crime rates in the world. Bullet Proof Park shocked the country out of that status quo, igniting conversations worldwide, across both traditional and social media platforms.
In essence, with this campaign, Gun Free South Africa re-emphasises its key messaging on policy reform, community action and practical behavioural change, creating a moment of reflection for the national consciousness, not only competing with a flood of other stories, but ensuring that the most powerful one emerged at the top.
“When Gun Free SA approached us we knew we needed to bring attention to the deadly issue of gun violence, showing South Africans what the future may hold if gun violence isn’t addressed, by proposing an outrageous solution to an even more outrageous problem,” explains Bester.
Gun Free South Africa works to reduce gun violence by advocating for stricter firearm regulations, removing illegal guns from circulation and promoting safer communities. Bullet Proof Park, says Bester, highlights the urgency of this crisis and forces the conversation into the public domain, directly confronting how unsafe areas – that should be places of laughter recreation – have become.
The concept
Bullet Proof Park is the only play area anywhere in the world fully encased in level eight bulletproof glass offering all the fun of a regular play park, but with the added benefit of protecting children inside from any stray bullets.
Designed by experts, the park also includes state of the art preventative measures such as secure entrances with biometric access control, panic buttons and 24/7 camera surveillance, giving parents and caregivers extra peace of mind that every effort has been made keep the country’s gun problem, and its stray bullets, from entering the play area.
“By proposing an outrageous park as a symbol highlighting gun violence, it captured media attention and public sentiment. The campaign successfully blended experiential storytelling with compelling visuals, making the issue impossible to ignore. By evoking strong emotions and sparking conversations, it not only raised awareness but also drove action, proving that creativity is most effective when it connects deeply with people’s values and everyday realities,” says JP Le Riche, creative director at M&C Saatchi Abel.
Creative director at M&C Saatchi Abel Delano Chengan, who was also part of the team that saw the concept come to life, explains: “To maximise impact, strategic shock value was employed – provoking outrage, disbelief, and urgency to move the conversation beyond passive concern to active demand for change. The campaign leveraged earned media, social media, and PR to extend reach, ensuring a national presence.”
The results
The campaign provoked responses from key figures, including the Provincial Minister of Community Safety, the South African National Police Commissioner, and even influenced President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, where he addressed gun violence directly — many of these reactions using language from the campaign itself.
The effort produced 105 individual pieces of media coverage, reaching almost 100-million people nationally, which equates to roughly reaching every South African twice. The campaign achieved R13-million in earned media, with public interest surging 700%, while engagement with news articles averaged at around 4,600 for each story.
Most importantly, though, the campaign led to real change on the ground, with communities and Gun Free South Africa establishing 60 new gun-free zones across the country.
